You can never be too old to have a happy day.
Isaiah Garza took a veteran who was 100 years old to Disneyland for a fun day.
Isaiah Garza knows a few things about how hard life can be. As a child, the Los Angeles-based designer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and public speaker lived in poverty and went in and out of homelessness. He hasn’t had an easy life, but he has always felt compelled to help others and inspire the next generation.
Garza’s dream came true when Rihanna was photographed wearing one of his pieces of jewelry on the cover of a French magazine. His design business is doing well, so he can spend some of his money and time making people’s days a little brighter and share on social media how simple, kind, and generous acts make people’s lives better.
For example, Garza recently invited a 100-year-old veteran he met to spend a day with him at Disneyland. Most people wouldn’t think to ask a 100-year-old man who uses a walker if he wants to go to a theme park, but the day they spent together shows how important it is to reach out without making assumptions about limitations.
At the start of Garza’s video, he walks up to a man who is out for a walk.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Garza says, “but I’ve had a really rough day. I just wanted to see if you would be willing to go to Disneyland with me today?”
Right away, the ask is a lesson about how to be kind. Garza isn’t saying, “Here, let me do this nice thing for you,” but rather, he’s asking the man to do him a favor by going with him.
Even though it was natural for the man to be surprised, he said yes. What do you lose when you turn 100? The next day was a lot of fun for both of them, as the man got to experience the magic of Disney, which works no matter how old you are.
The fact that the man tells Garza, “I thought my life was over,” shows how important this day is to him. When we’re young, we’re usually so busy that we don’t notice that not everyone lives as we do. Older people often feel lonely and are often forgotten by society. When Garza invited this man to a Disney day, he showed him that he hadn’t forgotten about him.
It also told him that people saw him as a whole person with free will and abilities. Not many people would look at an old man with a walker and think, “I bet he’d like to spend a day at Disneyland.” But look how happy it made him! Assumptions about what older people or people with mobility problems can do or what they might want to do can keep us from doing things that are fun for both of us. It’s possible that not every man this age would enjoy an action-packed day at Disney, but you never know, and it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Imagine if each of us reached out to an elderly neighbor and asked them to do something fun with us. It doesn’t have to be a full day at a theme park. It could be a tour of a museum, a walk in the park, coffee, a movie, etc. Reaching out to someone to let them know you remember and value them can make a big difference, but taking the time to share some happiness with them can change their lives.
Garza’s approach is kind and thoughtful, and we can all learn from it and try to be more like him. Thanks for showing us that it doesn’t take a lot of work to make the lives of the people around us much better and happier.
@isaiahgarza I took a 100 year old veteran to Disneyland & we became best friends ❤️ #disneyland #kindness #friends #veteran #bestfriends ♬ Steal My Sunshine (Single Version) – Len