"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be." -Shel Silverstein
Claire told me she is going to build 12 Disneylands when she grows up. Want to know the first thing that came out of my mouth? "That's silly, Claire. You can't build 12 Disneylands."
Well why not? Who says she can't build 12 Disneylands? Well besides me. And you. And probably every other adult in her life.
My first instinct was to bring her back to reality. There is some goodness in setting her sights so low that she will always be able to hit them. She may be a chronic underachiever and might never realize her true potential, but she'll never fall short of realizing her dreams. Know why? Cause she won't have any. The jaded grown-ups (and I use the term loosely) in her life will have already shaken them out of her.
12 Disneylands? Oh really you logistical pint-sized wizard. Well who's going to fund them? And where will you build them? You got zoning permits you little bright-eyed go-getter? You can't go slapping up Disneylands like Walmarts. And listen you fresh-faced 4-year-old, where is your business model? Where are your well thought out plans?
Thinking back on my response makes me embarrassed. It was cringe-worthy. I'm not sure how I got to the point where a response like that would roll off the tongue so easily.
I want my children to believe every bit of that Shel Silverstein poem. Not just hear me repeat it, not just read it in a book, but actually honestly truly believe it. I don't want this world to make them jaded. I don't want it to crush their spirits. I don't want people (ahem, me) to tell them no when yes is possible. I don't even want anyone to teach them what impossible means.
I want to bottle this zest for life, this belief they can accomplish anything their little hearts desire, and I want to give them a full dose when the world smacks them in the face in a few years. It's easy to forget. So easy to forget. Lucky for me I have two optimistic half-pints to remind me.
Come to think of it Boise, Idaho just might be a perfect location for the next Disneyland. You'd come wouldn't you?
2 comments:
It's hard to have your head in the clouds when it keeps getting shoved in the dirt. I'm a dreamer, but lately I've been finding my face full of mud, and you do start losing that optimism. I agree, though, that we should let our children believe with all their hearts that anything is possible. Many of the greatest advancements were accomplished by children dreamers turned adults who were told "You can't do that!", right?
Oh, my kids have long-since given up hope of anything. It was bred into them by me, the nay-sayingest girl in the world. Not that I tell them they can't, but I model it pretty good.
I guess you could say I'm a supermodel. And if you do, it will be the only time anyone has ever said it.
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