Life Isn't a Fairy Tale

Just wishing things would change is a waste of time

Wishing it was spring already at Evergreen, like in this photo, when we still have a month of winter is a waste of time.

We were eating dinner when I became aware that something small, quick and black was flitting around the room.

At first I thought it might be what’s called an eye floater – a clump of protein drifting across one of my ageing eyes and affecting my vision. But within minutes it was clear that a bat was in the house.

Having been bitten by a bat several years previously and having to undergo a series of precautionary rabies shots spanning several weeks, I was reluctant to engage with it. Although the chances of me being bitten again were extremely low, I fearfully ducked and dived to avoid it becoming entangled in my curly hair while Rob quickly opened the glass sliding door in the kitchen to give it an escape route. He also turned off all the lights.

The moon was up and almost full, so the bat was still visible, flying between the kitchen and lounge room. It even whisked itself upstairs but came down again within seconds, probably drawn to the delicious aroma of the curried beef stir-fry cooling and congealing in my bowl. 

I wished it would do the sensible thing and leave.

But wishes are only instantly granted in fairy tales.

Eventually, in its own time, probably when it caught the whiff of a few tasty, nutritious mosquitoes zipping above the winter lake, it flew outside and out of our lives.

While I put our dinner bowls into the oven to reheat, it occurred to me that wishing it had flown away didn’t change anything. It just held me in a state of helpless fear.

Life Isn't a Fairy Tale

Wishing doesn’t change anything in real life so why do I bother wishing?

It’s just a pointless mental habit.

Wishing is a waste of time.

I’m reminded of that old saying:

If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

 When I wish things it’s an indication that I’m feeling emotions like fear, powerlessness, frustration or annoyance.

Being in a state of wishing does nothing productive.

As I finally forked in a mouthful of reheated stir-fry, I resolved that next time I caught myself wishing something would change, I’d also take note of what I was feeling.

Then I’d examine the situation to see if there was something I could do, say or be that would change it.

If not, the only sensible thing to do would be to accept the situation.

Life isn't a fairy tale.

Why waste my life wishing?

With love, Marlane