The Green Bench

There is a season where the idea only makes sense to you.

Where an entire legacy started with one idea, sitting on a bench. No technology, no screens, just a man, his thoughts, and his ideas. Someone who dared to take steps despite what others said about his idea.

While standing in front of the green bench, it grabbed me in and I couldn't help but wonder what it was like in the 1940's to sit quietly on a bench, daring to dream of something so big everyone would call you "crazy" and tell you "it can't be done".

The audacity

The delusion

The self trust

The curiosity

What bench am I referring to?

The green bench at Griffith Park, in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney sat while his daughters rode the merry-go-round, imagining a place where parents and children could have fun together. The green bench is where Walt imagined the idea of Disneyland. Today, one of those original Griffith Park benches is preserved inside Disneyland's Main Street Opera House; where I found myself standing and reflecting, this summer while visiting Disneyland.

When Walt sat on that bench in the 1940's he had already successfully created Mickey Mouse, Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and won multiple Academy Awards. Walt wasn't sitting on the bench wondering if he could do something extraordinary, he had already done several extraordinary things.

But he took the time to sit with CURIOSITY and imagine, what if? What could be? Could it be possible?

Your previous chapter can be wildly successful and still not be the biggest thing you're capable of creating next. Your next chapter can sound absolutely ridiculous to someone else, but WHO CARES what "someone else" thinks? Have the audacity, have the delusion, have the self trust, and please take a little time to have curiosity with yourself.

I know the world is pulling you in a million different directions. I know you seldom get time to actually SIT, THINK, and be fully present in your thoughts.

Renee Funk's Green Bench Practice

To get tactical for a moment, here are 3 places I am being intentional right now. Think of it like your very own GREEN BENCH:

• Take 10 minutes to sit outside each day with NO PHONE, notice details and your surroundings.
• When driving, being intentional to not take a phone call, and not listen to music or podcasts (as someone who knows the benefit of university on wheels, always listening to podcasts to learn in the car, this one is tough for me, but I'm making the effort).
• Noticing where ideas flow (like the shower and walking the dog) and using your voice notes to document the ideas when the ideas come.

What "bench" can you take a moment to sit on?

Could it be possible, your next chapter is calling?