Its amazing the power a good story has to remind you of the things you hold deep in your heart to be precious, bringing up old dreams that you are not willing to let go. As a young man I have a lot of regrets. It is impossible to live your life without a few I think, experience and hindsight being the beginnings of wisdom, it feels however I have obtained too many.
I have been a coward too many times, and in too many places where opportunities might have been found. It is a hard thing to admit, and as I get older the more mired I feel in all those wrong choices that brought me where I am today. But there are times, I find a piece of a story that can move the foundation of my heart, and make me believe again that as long as I draw breath, I can swim past the sea of regret and find the courage to change things.
Its why I started this blog really. One instance, of a small change in pursuit of a better tomorrow for myself. This determination can be traced back to my love of a good story. Whether you find them in books, on the stage, on television, or over the internet, they remind you of the truth's that people so often lose, as they make their way through the world.
True, many stories tell of ideals that are hard if not impossible to make in reality. Dreams are never easy things to make real and often become an illusion, but stories of love, and redemption, of someone reaching out for the impossible, remind us of hope. It is the hope we all start out with as children, that very real belief that anything is possible in our universe.
But somewhere along the way most of us lose it. Our dreams don't turn out the way we wanted them to be. Many shy away from the work it takes to achieve those dreams hoping for an easier way, others still work for them and fail, still others are pulled away to other pursuits through circumstance. They are left feeling incomplete, many convince themselves that it was "just how the world is" and tragically laugh off their wishes as foolish.
I don't know if I will ever be able to achieve what I want. The world is a harsh place, I know sometimes things just don't come together. And to be honest, I can't be completely sure I know what I want. But to lose that hope is the most sorrowful thing I can think of to do. Settling in a life you feel isn't right for you, just because you've failed to make it change 1,000, 1,000,000 times before, giving up, is the most unnatural tragedy.
Because that is my biggest regret, and a mistake I made many times. I didn't try for something I wanted, but accepted defeat. Even if I die a failure, I don't want it to be because I did nothing. Then I think I really would have failed in the truest sense.
So, I have to thank all of those people who write their stories out there. Whether they are fictional, real, ridiculous, or serious, if they move the heart they can remind a person of the things they have forgotten. And more importantly give a person back something they lost sight of. Leaving a legacy that will continue beyond their own life, even if they don't see it.
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