By Tricia Lunt, English Faculty
The price of getting what you want, is getting what you once wanted.” ― Neil Gaiman
A photo inspires my reflection this week: a snapshot taken at a family Christmas, perhaps ten years ago or more. In those days, we would gather my mom’s fifteen grandchildren near the Christmas tree, offspring filling the couch and chairs and spilling on to the green carpeting in her family room. Aunts and Uncles would place gifts in front of each and let them tear away at the wrapping paper in a giant frenzy of childlike glee and Christmas present heaven.
One of my nieces, Annabelle (now 18) has been caught by the camera just before opening her gift, a moment of utmost desire and anticipation. She has her eyes closed; clearly wishing, hoping she will get what she wants.
Sadly, outside of the rarefied world of lucky childhood Christmases, we can’t control what we get and what we don’t get.
Often, what we want most is just to keep moving forward on the path we know, but the universe intervenes, blocking our path, forcing us to turn left, requiring us to enter unknown territory and leave behind the comfort of the familiar.
Life saddens and surprises us in ways we didn’t even stop to consider.
Relationships end; projects falter; opportunities vanish; we helplessly look on as our fondest hopes and dearest dreams come to nothing.
We ask for things, tangible and intangible, but what we want rarely comes to fruition. Instead, we settle for Rock & Roll philosophy and a halfhearted belief that we will “get what we need.”
The grand disappointments in our lives do not make sense; however, we can, and must, make sense of things, dealing as best we can with what we get and what we don’t.
The Flâneur's Turtle 