You could, I suppose, move heaven and earth, if you wanted to. Hell as well, possibly. But everything comes at a price. As Faust sells his soul to the devil, as the Pevensei siblings who journey to Narnia miss centuries of Narnian life while living in “our” world, as any bargain or negotiation or prioritizing entails, you give up something to gain something else. From a positive perspective, for everything you lose, you gain something else; in a bleaker light, for everything you achieve you must sacrifice something different (time, love, money, a potential future).
You may be given wings to fly, and those wings may take you far, but in time you might discover that by relying on your wings you’ve neglected your legs, so that when your wings fail you, you may no longer be strong enough to use those legs and run from danger.
But why not? Why should they fail you? If you’ve the foresight to determine the risk and weigh the possibilities, you can fight to survive no matter the circumstances. It’s about perspective, but also perseverance. Flex your wings and pump your legs; alternate between a sprint and a soar.
You may be ingenious enough to get through the walls of Troy within your wooden horse, but if a torch finds its way to your steed’s hollow belly, you may go up in smoke more swiftly than a burning twig. Need you enter the horse? Need you set yourself up for a trap, not knowing if you’ll survive—for reality is not the stuff of legends and books, where it is in the readers’ interest that you absolutely survive. Need you follow the pack? Is there no other way?
Seize your wooden horse in your hands and tip over the creature that has chained you to your fate, albeit a fate you have chosen. You have another choice, a choice to make a sacrifice, a choice to lose something in the hope and endeavor to find something else.
Don’t be afraid. Believe in yourself and unleash the free soul within.
No comments:
Post a Comment