Friday, December 24, 2010

Cultural Myths of Second Chances

One of the things that bugs me the most is when someone will not fight for what they want.  Sometimes its even worse if the person is denying they want it at all. If you've seen seasons 1-5 of Bones and have bitten your nails to the quick in frustration waiting for Booth and Bones to get together, you know what I mean.

The problem is, when you want something so bad, but you deny it too long.  Then what do you get? A whole bunch of nothing.  Your moment passes and there is nothing you can do to get it back.  Or is there? There are moments and then there are moments.  If you really want something bad enough, a second moment will be made, even if it is the most unexpected and far flung time you never expected.  It could happen.  But several things would have to happen in order to allow a second chance to occur.  First, you'd have to admit to yourself that you wanted the thing in the first place.  This is necessarily a painful and difficult process. No one likes to be wrong, and it sucks the big wang when you're so wrong that it changes the course of your life.

Secondly, you have to actively pursue the second chance.  Second chances don't just happen.  You have to create them, force them to reveal themselves out of the void. You have to abandon all else and pursue, single mindedly until you have made your chance into something real, something tangible and it is no longer a chance.  It is finally what really happened.  It is true.

This is what so many cultural myths would have us believe.  And I want to believe them.  I really do.  The problem is, I know what the real world is like.  You don't always get second chances.  Sometimes you don't even get a first one. 

The moral of the story kids, when you find real love, you have an option at greatness, the moment you've been waiting forever in your heart of hearts arises, take it.  Keep with it.  Hold fast and don't let go.  Life is fleeting and the next minute might be your last. 

2 comments:

  1. Maybe after you've seized your chance, you also need to create chances for others.

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  2. As much as is possible! That's the obligation of mentorship for those who are successful.

    ReplyDelete