Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Wishing will make it so -- but not exactly

“I prayed to God and I prayed to God, but none of my prayers were being answered,” said an acquaintance one day. “I went to my pastor and consulted with him about my concerns. He said, I think your prayers were being answered, but God was just saying No!”

In other words, things don’t always turn out either the way we want them to, or the way we envision them turning out.

“Don’t wish too hard for something,” my grandmother once said (my grandmother said everything anyone needs to know. Certain aphorisms have been attributed to the Bible, or Shakespeare, or Shaw, but I think Granny said them first), “because your wish might come true.”

That made no sense whatsoever when I was a little kid because I wasn’t much up on philosophical metaphysics.

Anyway, the other day I had a long-long-long held wish come true. In this I’ll be cryptic and won’t mention any details because they are irrelevant here, and the tale is a rather personal one. But, what I wanted to consider is how our wishes (prayers, if you prefer) sometimes manifest themselves.

When we dream of having something we long for coming to pass, we look on the bright side first. You know, wouldn’t it be wonderful if … and then we envision the universe opening up and because the dream has manifested we are finally at peace with the world.

Of course, if we are in a negative mood, then we revert to ‘worst-possible-scenario’ as in, if it came true, it might look like this … and the way it looks is ugly, frightening and/or heartbreaking. Worst possible scenarios often manifest before a (long-anticipated) road-trip or airline flight and generally include a lot of maimed bodies alongside a freeway or in a farmer’s field in Iowa.

But, mostly our dreams involve positive results. And that is where Granny’s caveat comes into play, and also gives me leave to create an aphorism of my own. Mine is simply this:

Your dreams will come true but they will not look at all like you imagined them!

That’s what happened with mine. My years’ old dream manifested – but it manifested differently from my wildest imaginings. Not especially negatively, not especially positively, just ‘differently.’

But, in retrospect, the way it manifested was exactly the way it should have. It indicated there is both order and reality in the universe. And for that I am immensely grateful.

More important to me, it manifested ‘thoughtfully’ in that it left me room for a lot of introspection about the situation. Reality didn't 'bite' but merely nipped, and it was a good nip. And that introspection gives me a certain guiding force.

You have to like that. And for that I am grateful.

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10 Comments:

Blogger Jazz said...

I've had that happen. The unexpected ways things turn out are sometimes disconcerting, but are usually (in my case so far at least) for the best.

11:23 AM  
Blogger sally in norfolk said...

Was a time in my life when I prayed and prayed that all would turn out well......none of it turned out how I hoped but it turned out well enough for me to get on with my life.....and now when i look back I see that it could have turned out so much worse than it did.
You should never pray for something that you know is impossible.

2:36 PM  
Blogger Tai said...

Introspection is a positive outcome, I think.

Being self aware is a talent that not enough have!

3:08 PM  
Blogger Janice Thomson said...

Beware what you ask for - truth hides behind a mask. Good post Ian...your honesty and touch of soul-baring is a shining example.

3:47 PM  
Blogger Spider Girl said...

A lovely thoughtful post, Ian.

I've had long-held wishes come true before and I know now that they can both end up exactly as enjoyable as you were hoping for (yay!) and they can also end up being utterly different and annoying in ways unforeseen too(as in what-was-I-thinking?)

5:46 PM  
Blogger AlieMalie said...

aiy yi yi ... very true.

i finally realised that you really do have to be careful what you wish for, because, yes, they will come true.

my own little phrase nowadays is, be careful what you ask the universe for; she will deliver. perhaps not in the way you were expecting.

nice post.

:)

5:48 PM  
Blogger Big Brother said...

Good post Ian. A bit of introspection is aways good for the soul. To wish for something does not mean that it is good for you. Often things will not turn as you wish, but later you'll realize that it was really for the best.

7:09 PM  
Blogger Wendy C. said...

Your post made me think about dreams...the kind where we look to the future in hopes of something wonderful. I don't think I have anything like that...not really. I've been a Mommy so long, I guess I have no idea what to dream for myself. I think I shall start working on that right now :-)

10:07 PM  
Blogger geewits said...

When we're young the message of fables and myths (The Three Wishes, King Midas), not to mention various "Twilight Zone" episodes haven't really sunk in. For years, when told to make a wish, I would wish "I want to be happy." In my late 20's or early 30's I got the message and amended my wish to "I want to be happy, but not at the expense of others."

10:43 PM  
Blogger CS said...

It's a good thing to be able to see the gift in whatever happens, expected or unexpected. That's great that it was cause for reflection for you. And the whole thing about not being too attached to the outcome? Very Buddhist.

1:21 PM  

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