Eyes Wide Open

Last night, we saw The Greatest Showman, the movie about P.T. Barnum, starring Hugh Jackman. It felt like a stunning Broadway production, flung across the giant screen with the abandon of a five-year-old set free in a paint store full of open cans. The cinematography was superb, the pacing perfect and the script sublime.

But it was the energy pulsing underneath the surface that called to me. I wasn’t the only one who felt it, because at the end of the movie, as the final notes were fading, applause rippled through the packed theater.

The Greatest Showman is about one man who was driven to show the world the wonder inside each person. He focused on the confused and forgotten individuals who were exiled from society because of their physical deformities. Their pain and angst started from the outside and drove inward, gutting them of their sense of purpose and worth. As each of these people discovered their own talents and strengths, they learned to stand in their power, arms wide open to life.

The transformation each of these men and women experienced was thrilling, gratifying and unifying. But it was the inner transformation of Barnum himself that created the heart of the movie.

He opened everyone’s eyes but his own.

Barnum could see the wonder in everyone but himself. His own misbeliefs about himself and his place in society almost lead to his downfall, but in true showman fashion, he rises from the ashes, Ringmaster coat intact.

This is a musical with a message. The songs are well placed and advance the plot without interruption or manipulation. Hugh Jackman is at his best, shining his talent as an actor, dancer, and singer while leading his merry band of misfits.

The lyrics to “Eyes Wide Open” should be an anthem for anyone who wants to feel alive:

You stumble through your days,

Got your head hung low, your skies' a shade of grey.

Like a zombie in a maze,

You're asleep inside, but you can shake away.

Cause' you're just a dead man walking.

Thinking that's your only option,

But you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day.

Sun is up the color's blinding, take a world redefine it.

Leave behind your narrow mind, you'll never be the same.

Come alive.

Come alive.

Go and light your light,

Let it burn so bright.

Reaching up to the sky,

And it's open wide, you're electrified.

When the world becomes a fantasy

And you're more than you could ever be,

Cause you're dreaming

With your eyes wide open.

And you know you can't go back again

To the world that you were living in,

Cause you're dreaming

With your eyes wide open.

The Greatest Showman is one of those movies that lights up your heart from the inside and makes you wonder why you can’t feel that electrified 24/7. It inspires you to see that same light in every person you meet, regardless of their appearance, skin color, financial status or sexual orientation.

For 2018, why not commit to living your life “Eyes Wide Open.”

To help you, take the 21 Day Heart Dancing Challenge. You will learn more about yourself, how well you communicate with yourself and others, and how to create the life of your dreams. Let's dance together!

It's just another step in the Heart Dance <3.

Kathryn Eriksen was a litigation attorney for 23 years when she became a transformational teacher, speaker, and author and never looked back. She turned her greatest fears into triumphs by shifting her thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions, using the Heart Dancing process. Learn more at KathrynEriksen.com.