Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk that test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
the nighttime Whatifs strike again!
By: Shel Silverstein
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I mean really, does this poem not speak for everyone? This poem is like my life story. Whatif this ... Whatif that ... If you ask anyone that knows me, they will tell you that I worry too much. While I think that worrying is good on some level, I have to keep telling myself "I will be pleased and surprised by the way things turn out". That phrase is much better to repeat than "Whatif I have food in my teeth? A boogar in my nose? Trip while I'm walking over there?".
How many wasted minutes do we take by focusing on the "Whatifs"? How many wasted moments do we miss? I am starting to realize that the "Whatifs" in life will only drag you down. "Whatif my life had been like this?" or "Whatif I did this instead of that?" I think that "Whatifs" take away from the "What Could Be's" ...
So instead of worrying about every little thing that I have no control over, I think that it is time to start asking myself what could be if I only tried something new, made a new friend, went somewhere new all by myself (one of my biggest sources of anxiety), got lost somewhere and had an adventure, sang out loud in public, danced like no one was watching ...
Easier said than done? We shall see, right?
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