Change in Plans

This morning I was running late already when realized I had taken a wrong turn.  I had no chance of getting to my appointment and it’s one I had really wanted to keep.  So I took a moment and thought about it.

I could just go home, I suppose.  But really, wasn’t it an amazing opportunity?  I could use the time to do something I thought I didn’t have time for.  Sure it was 8:30 in the morning, but what about starting my day with a movie I’d wanted to see?  A moment on the Fandango app and I’d found an early showing of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a powerful and wonderful movie I can now highly recommend.

It was the start of an inspiring day, all because of a change in plans.

Groundhog Day

Once again an obvious joy greeted me when the day began: it’s Groundhog Day.  Certainly there’s joy or at least light-heartedness in a day set aside to listen to a rodent predict the weather.  And there’s joy in New England, even in this year’s very mild weather, in realizing that winter really will be fading a mere 6 weeks from now.

But it’s the related movie, also called Groundhog Day, that got me thinking about the joy of the do-over.  Living the same day over and over and over until we get it right would be too much.  But giving ourselves and each other another chance to start again or to try a different way are joyful gifts we can choose any day we want to.

Fantasy

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

Fantasy is a joyful alternate reality.  It provides a way to step out of our lives and into another time, another place, another person.  Good and evil are clear and heroes never lack the resources to right the wrongs and end the evil.

It’s so much fun.  But I think there’s a hidden surprise too.  When we pay attention to what attracts us in fantasy, to what springs unbidden to our minds, there’s so much to discover.  Who do I want to be?  What world do I want to shape?  What resources do I have?  Who will I build with?

Instead of an escape, fantasy becomes a pathway.