photo credit: Dannee Neal

Hakuna Matata is Swahili for “no worries,” and it is a song from one of my all time favorite Disney Movies, The Lion King.  I went to see this movie in theaters the summer after my sophomore year in College.  I purchased it immediately when it became available on VHS, and I would watch it with my college friends often our junior and senior years.  My very good friend and I would quote lines from the movie all the time, and Hakuna Matata was always applicable. It was then, it is now, and perhaps it always will be.

How could I have possibly known that Hakuna Matata would have so many life applications?  It is the perfect saying when your child has a scrape and you pull out that Disney Band-Aid.  It comes in handy when you accidentally spill your Starbucks Shaken Lemonade on your lap in the car.  After you have gotten up first thing in the morning to make your Cinderella’s Royal Table Advanced Dining Reservation, only to finally get through after several busy signals, and then to be told that there are no remaining times available for the day you really wanted… what more can you say?

But, let’s look closely at the lesson learned from Pumbaa.  As a Wart Hog, he was not accepted among the other Savanna animals. He did, however, find a friend in Timon–a friend who accepted him exactly how he was and for who he was.  Isn’t that a great lesson that we should love the skin we are in?  We can’t change who we are for others and, Hakuna Matata, we don’t need to.  There are friends who will love us for who we are, unconditionally.  I am blessed to have a friendship like that, the one I share with my Buddy mentioned above. Timon and Pumbaa understood the importance of acceptance, and, because of it, they were able to welcome Simba into their Friendship Circle.  The more the merrier!

Hakuna Matata is so much more than a wonderful phrase.  It truly is a “problem-free philosophy” that one decides to believe in.  It is a tool for caring, for calming, for patience, and for friendship.  It’s a universal statement people of all ages can relate to.

Hakuna Matata

It means no worries for the rest of your days

It’s a Problem-free Philosophy

Hakuna Matata!

-The Lion King

Contributed by: Dannee Neal (NDM#134) Dannee is a DDL Parenting Blogger and proud member of the Walt Disney World Moms Panel. Visit the Walt Disney World Moms Panel for help planning your Magical Trip. She is not a Disney employee. The postings on this site are her own and do not necessarily represent Disney’s positions or opinions.

5 thoughts on “HAKUNA MATATA

  1. Love it! What a great philosophy to live by. Now more than ever – keep these words near and dear to your heart. Hankuna Matata my friend. Love you!

  2. This is so applicable to my life right now. I swear you saw right through my soul and spoke to the core of my being. I love you for putting these words down for us. Dannee, I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to hear what it is that you have to share.

  3. This is so applicable to my life right now. I swear you saw right through my soul and spoke to the core of my being. I love you for putting these words down for us. Dannee, I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to hear what it is that you have to share.

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