The BluePrint #2: Wishing and Hoping

11:52 PM Posted by Knox McCoy


I have an awful tendency to compartmentalize my life. Not exactly a grass is always greener thing, but sort of a "life will be good when (x) happens" kind of thing. I do not like this about myself.

This flawed idea hinges on the idea that my life is leading up to this moment where my dreams will converge with reality. Only then will I be uniformly happy. Magically, I will be doing what I love to do. Donuts will be as nutritional as Raisin Bran and siestas will gain traction as socially acceptable workplace policies.These are my hopeful aspirations.

There are a few things wrong with this line of thinking: First, I would imagine that eating donuts every day would get old fast. That may seem sacreligious in terms of donut devotion, but I think the wonderment and glory of a donut is in it's rarity. There's a novelty in having a donut in a similar way that Christmas or Memorial Day is awesome. If we had Christmas once a week, dealing with all the wreaths and tree lights would just get obnoxious, AM I RIGHT?

But more to the larger point, my hopes beg the questioning of this murky point of tangibly living the dream. As much as I would love to be able to cross some finish line and just coast through life to never again be burdened with stress or trials, it simply doesn't work like that. I want it to, but it doesn't.

But there's something refreshing in that. Life isn't broken into compartments of enjoyment and endurance. It's one long string of experiences. Some are good, some are bad, and some involve raisin bran. All of the separate elements exist to comprise the same singular thing.

So for the Boy's blueprint, I want him embracing every part of life. I don't want him holding out until all the conditions are perfect, because life is short enough as is.

Below is my favorite quote from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I can't read it and not think of my son because it encapsulates everything I want him to know.

"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."