The Bells Tolled

There's an old saying from somewhere that says "Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it." To a certain extent, I agree with this phrase. You should not be flippant with your wishes. Wishing is not an activity where sarcasm is appreciated or welcomed. Only genuine wishing here, please. I have been, several times, the victim of wishing for something without really thinking about the consequences. When I was around nine, I thought that glasses were cool and I wished I could wear them. A few years later, my rash and unthought-through wish came true. Of course, with that example, it is conceivable that it would have happened anyway, seeing as both my parents wore glasses, and therefore carried that gene that had a good biological chance of being passed to me regardless of whether I wished for it when I was nine years old. But I'm sure that deep in the forgotten recesses of my mind there are other examples of this, and I'm sure that all of you reading this have already thought of examples in your own life. If you haven't, hurry and think of one now and pretend you were being an analytical and active reader. I promise I won't tell anyone.

Sufficed to say that you should not be impulsive when wishing. But, it is actually the contrary side of the above mentioned saying that I want to talk about. (I led off with the opposing argument to give contrast to the point I am trying to make and also so that I can use it as a point of reference for building up my point of view--and to think that I keep asking myself why I coach Debate)

You see, there is this weird, backwards thinking in our society. We will recklessly drop negative comments like, "I wish she would get the plague so that she would stop afflicting me with her over-bubbly, noxious personality." And when the above mentioned "she" gets in a car accident and nearly dies two weeks later we immediately think that we somehow jinxed her life and we suddenly feel guilty for having wished evil upon her in the first place. In juxtaposition, when a bright and glorious fluorescent dream stands in front of us, we hesitate and refuse to reach for it because "it'll never come true anyway." On a smaller scale, we sometimes won't ask a question because we're sure the answer will be no.

Here is further illustration of my point through a story: I was in Scranton, Pennsylvania for some unknown reason and was walking around enjoying myself when I ran into a very old church building. You know the type: the ones that look like a cheap knock-off of Notre Dame with a small 10-bell bell tower and only five stained glass windows in the front. But, I had this deep fascination with the building and went inside, wondering if I could get at tour. The custodian walked me around and showed me the main attractions and at the conclusion of the tour asked if I had any questions. I thought I would take a chance on an odd request. I asked if I could see the bell tower. Five minutes later I was walking up a set of stairs that looked as though they were right out of the end of the first National Treasure movie: nothing but termite damage and rot holding them up. We stopped at a door that lead to the space above the ceiling of the chapel. I stood on a five inch thick bearing wall support beam where if I had fallen to either side the flimsy ceiling underneath would have collapsed and I would have fallen sixty feet to my death or serious impalement. After this we climbed up yet more flights of stairs (these ones burned from a fire years ago) to the small trap door that led to the bell tower. It was amazing. I bet Quasimodo himself was the only person who had a better view then what I had. I got to carve my name in the wood and we got to be in the tower while the bells tolled. It is one of the coolest memories I have; and all because I asked.

I was careful what I wished for, and I got it. I know it's been said over and over again until our ears are sore that we don't ever wish for the things we really want because we're afraid that we won't get them. Well, here's an idea: If we wish for something and it does come true, great, but if we wish for something and it doesn't come true, are we any worse off then we were if we hadn't wished for it? Many people would answer: Yes, because I would have failed. My rebuttal: Who cares? Failure will never be the antagonist in your story, it will only be a conflict. These conflicts can beat against us and tear us down, and no matter how may times we beat it, it still comes back. In the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin: "Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and it will every now and then peep out and show itself." (never mind he was really talking about pride) But, we are the ones who get to chose whether or not the conflict, whether or not failure wins the battle and gets the girl (or guy as the case may be). WE are the ones who get to decide.

Dream realistic, but dream big. Believe me, you can do both. And don't be afraid to just ask; you might be pleasantly surprised.

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"Never hold back you step for a moment. Never doubt that your courage will grow. Hold your head even higher, and into the fire we go!" -The Scarlet Pimpernel

"If you think you can't, you're right. If you think you can, you're also right." -Unknown

"When facing a difficult task, act as though it is impossible to fail. If you're going after Moby Dick, take along the tartar sauce." -H. Jackson Brown

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Today's Featured Quote:

"Expect the best. Prepare for the worse. Capitalize on what comes." -Unknown