Thursday, November 4, 2010

Call Me Captain Obvious, BUT...

if you have been reading my blogs, either here or somewhere (cough cough FB cough) else, or if you have known me for at least 17.4 minutes, then you probably have surmised that i am from another planet.  where do i come from, you might ask...  i come from Why Not?.

sometimes it's hard to get along in this Why? world. i always seem to be approaching things from some other angle than everyone else. i feel like an outsider so much of the time. i'm all for faith, and i do long at times to fit in better. and i do see that Why? is very important... Why? gives you the reasons and the motivation, the method even.

the thing about Why Not? is, isn't it just the other side of the coin? as much as i like it when someone can tell my Why?, i become concerned and agitated when someone can't tell me Why Not?. Why Not? leads you to question the possibilities. it helps to break down barriers. Why Not? assumes there are things we don't yet know, but should.

Why Not? has answered some very important questions. like why not to wake sleeping dogs, why not to spit into the wind, why not to swing over the bar or color outside the lines. some things are learned best by experience.

there is always risk involved in asking Why Not?. to do so always means you are stepping out onto the edge. sometimes one risks failure. sometimes one risks acceptance. sometimes one risks regrets. most often, you risk all three. Why Not? is not the most comfortable place to live. you risk redefining the existing order of things.

it makes me discouraged, that people view the Why Not?s as trouble-makers. this has certainly never been my intent, to make others unhappy or uncomfortable. it doesn't mean i can't "follow orders", or be a team-player. i just can't seem to forsake my curiosity, or change my inherent view of the world just to satisfy someone else.

Why Not? is not for the faint of heart.

then again, it is so very fulfilling to see others ask Why Not?. when someone sees a challenge before them, and instead of rolling over they rise to it and ask Why Not?... this is perhaps the best feeling in the world to me. when a child sees the difficulty in learning, in making their mind better and stronger, in following a dream, in creating a better future for themselves and others -- Why Not? allows them to examine the obstacles and then tackle them.

oh, i am not the first of my kind to inhabit this place called Earth.  i feel pretty certain that when it was learned that moldy bread could cure disease, that when the earth stopped being flat and began revolving around the sun, that Why Not?s were involved. i feel equally sure that some day, when there is an end to war and hunger is a thing of the past; that when cancer is no longer a life-threatening disease and birth defects are a part of history; that when every person is judged solely on the content of their character; that again, there will be a Why Not? attitude that prevails.

i'm not saying that i'm going to end World hunger or cure cancer.  maybe all i can do is to entertain people with my "odd" observations about this place we live.  but then again, you never know...  and that's the thing.  even never having been there, i miss my home planet.  there is so much hope in Why Not?. how could one knowingly give that up?  or at least not want to visit occasionally.

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