The Importance of Believing ‘Impossible Things’
“I can’t believe that!” said Alice.
“Can’t you?” the queen said in a pitying tone. “Try again, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”
Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said. “One can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
You’ve heard this passage before. Jen welcomed us all to the club house with it.
But why? Why the importance of believing in impossible things?
Today is the day we go under the glass. It is Friday, Friday July 17, 2009, a rather innocuous day. Or is it?
Yesterday I learned my Grandma–the woman who was either an electrician or a vet (or both) at the Naval Base where she met my grandpa in 1940, the woman who still drove a gigantic motor-home all by herself to Arizona every year– has pancreatic cancer.
I cried. I cried like we all do the moment we recognize there will be a goodbye we have say to someone we love. I cried more, feeling the shift away from a childlike assumption of immortality. I cried and ruined my husband’s shirt with mascara. And then I stopped.
I started writing the importance of believing in impossible things. Now, you may think you know where this is going. You may think here is where I tell you, I’m going to believe in the impossible thing of saving my grandma from dying. But that is not what I’m going to tell you…
Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita, writes in his novel Speak, Memory:
“The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities of darkness.”
Regardless of what we believe about what happens after we die, what we can agree on is the brevity of life itself– each of us are given just a ‘crack of light.’
The importance of believing in impossible things has nothing to do with changing natural law and everything to do with expanding the potential of this flickering flame.
Today, go under the looking glass and examine your life. (This is the segment where we look at some tough stuff- but all to make us more alive, not dull or depressed).
What could a renewed belief in impossible things do for you? Think of changing the can’ts into wow, what if’s… Think of shifting your priority list around. You want to go back to school but you thought you’d just wait until the kids were through with theirs? You want to have a baby but the bank account isn’t plush enough? You want to be an actress but somebody told you that you ’had to be at the right place at the right time?’ You want to ride a Vespa in Italy?
The power of Belief in your life needs you as much as you need it.
Let’s get real, and get bold– not to turn ourselves into super heroes or demi-gods but into Alices who are willing to take the Queen’s advice and practice believing impossible things daily- your half an hour starts now.
[Photo Credit: Morgan Day Photography]
Isn’t that inspiring?!! I think I needed to read that.
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This is great Morgan, thanks for sharing.
“The power of Belief in your life needs you as much as you need it.”…
Love it!
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Wow! This post was incredible. Thank you for writing it, I loved it and will share it with many.
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As usual I love reading your stuff.
This is great. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks for so many “Retweets” guys! Really makes me feel embraced. I love our community of supportive women. So SO special.
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Missive Reply:
July 17th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Morgan,
I’ve been so busy reading all these awesome comments and popping over to all their authors’ sites, that I haven’t taken the time to tell you how inspired I also am with your post. Thank you so much. Quite a community we have here, ha?! Lucky, lucky, lucky girls.
Love you,
Jen
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Thank you. I think most of us have someone in our lives like your Grandma; I know I did. I was having a similar conversation with my youngest daughter and the impact individuals can have on one’s own “being”. She calls them ’spirits’ and I prefer angels.
Good luck to your grandmother — capture her stories so you can pass them along to your relatives now and in the future. (I would have loved to be a fly-on-the-wall during those RV trips!)
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Joann-
I would have loved to be a fly-on-the-wall during her RV trips too. A bold, adventurous spirit runs in the family. I think I’ll be doing a many RV trips in the future in her honor. Would love all the looking glass lane girls to come along
RV road trip around Europe, perhaps?! What do you think girls?
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Wow, this post really resonated with me. Thank you for sharing your beautiful writing and encouraging this in all of us.
I’ll be keeping you and your grandma in my thoughts.
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I have always loved that quote. I’m going to take the queen’s (and your) advice, and start practicing daily. Thanks for the reminder.
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Standing ovation to my Morgan for an excellent post… thought-provoking and heartfelt as always. One of the things I’m loving about being mom to my two munchkins is that this unlimited thinking comes so naturally. Anything is possible. Everything is magical! I’m taking notes!
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Powerful, moving & tactile at the same time. Morgan, this post gives such perspective while it shows your incredible way of looking at life. Love being in the clubhouse with you, GlamRomantic.
Thanks for a beautiful read
Leigh
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Thank you for your post. I can feel your abundant energy, even just reading it. It’s an amazing universe we live in, and the coincidences, never cease to amaze me. Thank you for reminding me that I’m still that daydreaming little girl, just growsed up
Where’s Alice?
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I agree with so much of that, and will be trying to supplant can’ts with what ifs from now on.
JB
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I’m late to game on this one…I spent a, mostly, internet free weekend with my family, but a big standing ovation to you Morgan. Beautiful and inspiring words from a beautiful and inspiring woman. Thank you for sharing and uplifting all of us.
I do want to go back to school and I do want to have children, and rather than thinking they are impossible to accomplish now, I am walking away thinking about how I can make it all work together….. I felt like you wrote this for me (though I know that’s not the case). It speaks volumes to where I currently am in my life.
~Jenn
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Missive Reply:
July 21st, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Jenn,
You’re never late. Evahhhhh. Those rules don’t exist down here. Just ask @JennSpastic how I scolded her about that one! You’ll do all those things. I know it. Now I have to go listen to my Morgan be brilliant via podcast. Why? Cause I was LATE to the machine today, due to too much PLAY! Ahhhhh. I’m laughing at myself right now, even if nobody else is. That’s good, right?!
Jen
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Thanks so much, Morgan…in the midst of a day that was getting darker and darker by the minute, I stumbled on this link (coincidence? never) and I choose to pick myself up and believe the impossible…
You’ve given me hope when others around me have been robbing it from me all day (I must better protect my heart from these energy vampires – a girlfriend just sent me two awesome links: http://tinyurl.com/6af4wn and http://tinyurl.com/2mp75z ).
Thank you,
Erica
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