And So It Is

"I can't do anything right!" the young man said.

I hesitated to say anything.  It was really none of my business.  I hear people undermining their lives all the time.

"I'm so stupid!" he shouted.

"And so it is!" I said quietly to myself.

At least I thought I did.

"What did you say?" he asked of me.

I was embarrassed for having been heard.

"I guess...I was really talking to myself," I said.

"Yeah, I do that, too," he replied.  "Why would anyone else want to?"

"But you are saying all the wrong things," I said.

He stopped what he was doing and approached me.

"What are you talking about?  And what business is it of yours?" he asked.

Okay, now I've gone too far into this.  He's a bit angry at himself and now me for getting involved.

"Well, I was talking about you and it's really none of my business, you are right."

He stood looking at me, waiting.

"I hear people putting themselves down all the time.  "I can't!"  "I'm so stupid!"  "Dummy!"  "I can't do anything right!"

"So?"

"And so it is!"

"And so what is?"

"When you keep feeding yourself things like that it becomes a reality. Say you're stupid enough times and you begin to believe it. Say that you can't and you can't."

"Oh, don't waste that positive stuff on me!" he shouted.

"There you go again.  Why is it a waste?"

"Because it just doesn't work on me."

"And so it is!" I said.  Then standing right in front of him I said, "It works, you don't."

"Hey, do you think I'm stupid?"

"No, but you do.  And having just met you for the first time and hearing you say all those things to yourself, I'd have to guess you were right."

"Well, I'm not!"he said as he walked away.

"Now keep saying that to yourself and see what a difference it makes in your life!"  I yelled to him as he left the room.

I was frustrated.  I spend my life trying to get people to see beauty in the world and love in their life.  I write stories to inspire, plant a seed, adjust an attitude, or simply fill a void.

I wish I could say that moments later the young man came rushing back to tell me that he needed to hear what I had to say.

It didn't happen.

You see, the business I'm in is based on faith.

I believe in something bigger than I, but I can't see it.

I believe in hope, but I can't measure it.

I move ahead through life following my dreams, but I can't touch them.

So, I write stories and send them to friends I've never met.

I speak to rooms full of people I will never see again.

I write and speak about those things that touch us all.

Like wanting to believe in something bigger.

Finally knowing that when all appears lost, there's always hope.

Dreams make today worth living and tomorrow worth waiting for.

"And so it is."

"I believe in you!"

~ Bob Perks ~

[ by: Bob Perks Copyright © 2005 (2believe@comcast.net) -- {used with permission} ]