Ever wanted something? Not the way you’d want a sweet or anything (except you’ve got cravings), have you ever really, I mean really wanted something? Whether you got it or not is a different thing. Let me ask – how bad did you want it? Would you give your life to get that thing? Think back about it for a second, whatever it was you wanted, was it really that important? What was it going to add to you? Ok, I gotta ask, did you get it?
Today’s chronicle deals with disappointment (and I’m not talking about something you didn’t get)! I’m looking at disappointment from the “how could you want that kind of thing” angle. That’s because recently I learned that people want/go for the wrong things, and then get awfully disappointed when they don’t get them. Let’s imagine this scenario together….imagine a 79kg, 4 feet girl wanting to strut her stuff on runways in Paris and Milan! All because she’s read some books that say, ‘if you can think it, you can be it’! Ok, ok, that’s exaggerating a wee bit but we all get what I’m talking about here!
The Fairy God Sister (in her wisdom) talked to a few people, found out stuff they wanted/ wished they could do, how that didn’t happen, and what they either settled for, or improvised with. Note that names were changed to protect the privacy of the people in this chronicle (duh)!
First story’s about a young girl. Karen became friends and subsequently fell in love with a young, good looking guy. He was everything she ever wanted: caring, witty, great sense of humor, extremely sexy, a hopeless romantic and more! There was a ‘but’, though. Guess. Yes, you’re right, he was married! Now forget the laws of karma and everything (before you all start wrinkling your noses at her), nothing happened. At least nothing ‘extra’ happened. Yes she knew he was married of course, in her own words she just didn’t think it would go that far! So here she is, wishing that somehow it’ll work between them. How?? I can hear you scream. It’s still within the boundaries of logic and rationality (or so the both of them think because…..) but like I told her, it’s only a matter of time before they get themselves in trouble! She said she’d think about it. Please join her, hold the thought, next story.
Collins wanted to be a doctor (still wants to be one to this day)! Now this lofty dream is not borne out of his innate desire to heal people, ease the sufferings of his people, or even to find the cure to AIDS or some other deadly disease. He wants to be a doctor because of the respect his elder brother commands in their village. ‘How primitive can he be’, you may be wondering, Collins doesn’t care. Don’t begrudge him o, he actually worked at it, struggling (in capital letters) through science class in secondary school, paying all sorts of odd bribes to his class and hostel mates to help with different projects and assignments. The days before JAMB were the longest days Collins ever saw, I mean, knowing he would face physics, chemistry and biology in the hall (alone) snatched sleep from his eyes. Sparing you the details of the trauma he went through on the actual exam day is only fair. The result? A total score of 160, with 72points of that belonging to English. Divide what’s left by the 3 science subjects and you’d agree the situation was (and still is) hopeless. Hopeless because, against countless advice, he’s still writing JAMB (and a number of other exams) for a multiple couple times with little or no difference to the result. ‘Collins go for an arts course now’, no! He’d always reply, ‘my dream is to be a doctor’!
Final story. A really close friend of mine is quadriplegic. She’s been that way for the past 15 years now after a ghastly motor accident where she was the sole survivor. Her name is Bella, one of those people you’d say God created on a Sunday after a great lunch and siesta! She was (still is), the definition of the word beautiful, inside and out.
Things are different now though. Every day she wishes and wills herself to die because she can’t do the one thing she wants in this life: ballet dancing, because she’s confined to bed. Once, she deceived a friend to give her an overdose and we nearly lost her. I love her like crazy and everything but she’s trying so hard, I caught myself praying once that her suicide attempts succeed, she’s so unhappy!
Three stories, all negative you might think. Three dreams, slowing but surely towing the path of nightmares. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a crime to dream, but how feasible is it? The bigger the dream the bigger the success. Succinctly said. In these days of uncertainty however, the more realistic the dream, the greater the chances of fulfillment in this lifetime.
How are these three people sorting themselves out, you might ask. Karen is taking counseling classes with the Fairy God Sister (and hopefully she’s not just attending the classes because it’s her only opportunity to meet a fairy)! Collins traveled to a certain part of this country where black gold abounds, says he heard they have special centers for exams. Bella? Well, I spoke with her before I started writing this, and I can only say it’s a good thing our lives are on loan.
Quick tip for the week: you hold the keys to your happiness, and to your sorrow. Good news is, the keys are on two separate bunches. Choose. Have a great week!
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