Just Imagine ...
Things Go Right

Just imagine, unlikely as it may seem, things go right. It can happen, but would you know it? Things could go wrong anyway if you're afraid to believe it. You have to entertain the possibility of things going right for things to turn out right.
It can boggle the mind to think about how many things have gone wrong because the people involved were so convinced that things would go wrong. Major battles have been won by minor forces because of the superstition, ignorance and pessimism of the superior forces. Inventions have been overlooked and delayed because of the arrogance and narrow mindedness of "the powers that be.”
Fear of disappointment is one of the biggest and most common obstacles to things going right. It might seem ridiculous to the "objective" observer, but the fear of disappointment, the fear of failure and the common strategy of passive/aggressive resistance, the strategy of "it's not going to work so why try" is so prevalent and takes so many forms and occupies so many positions of power that it is rarely challenged with any persistence. It is a form of cowardice and a form of laziness. It is supported by abusive people who ridicule any endeavors that are less than 150% successful and by power hogs who fear a loss of influence from the success of their "subordinates" and/or admitting that there are things that they do not understand,
When you get down to the bottom line, what's the big deal? What's so bad about a mistake here and there? How else are we going to learn and discover?
Some of the most common products of our "modern society" are the result of experiments that were otherwise failures, experiments that were expecting different results. Teflon, the glue on those removable memo notes, the European discovery of the American continents, many a scene in successful comedies, and a bunch of other things and events that are not on the tip of my brain were all unplanned, unexpected and, indeed, accidental. They were the result of searching for something else. All these things and more were the result of people saying, "Hey, let's try it, it might go right. Let's just see what happens."
The point is that things can go right even if they don't go as planned. A little failure can be a character builder or, at least, prove that lack of complete success is not the end of the world. Of course, there is a difference between failure and suicide, but most of us can tell the difference between mortal danger and wounded pride. All of the discoveries and inventions that exist in the world today are the result of individual people being open to possibilities and braving the criticism of skeptical and cowardly contemporaries. These things happen very slowly because of the attitude of pessimism caused by insecurity, cynicism and lack of faith which prevails in the world today and has for centuries.
Cynicism is a major obstacle to things turning out well. Cynicism says that anything that looks good is an illusion. The existence of good intentions is denied by the cynic. The "too good to be true" concept is a religious precept to these bottomless puddles of pessimism. There is of course, truth to the saying, but it does not preclude the possibility of good things happening. Doubt in the face of true good intent discourages future attempts at carrying out good intention. Cynicism has been called frustrated idealism and there is much truth in this. Cynicism is also an illustration of the old maxim that “misery loves company." The cynic is more concerned with bringing others down to its level of disappointment than with creating any level of success.
Things CAN go right! The trick is to be open to things being right in a form that was, perhaps, unexpected. You must entertain the possibility that things can go right. This may sound simple and obvious, but it is incredibly rare.
Just imagine. Imagine things going the way they are planned. Imagine things turning out better than planned. Imagine a limited success. Look for the things that went right, even when things turn out differently than planned. Look at unplanned outcomes as a lesson, do not let disappointment or frustration cloud your mind. Be brave and bold enough to change plans. Be fascinated and interested in results, whatever their form.
The medieval alchemists never found out how to manufacture gold, but they did discover many new and useful metal alloys. You may not find the address that you are looking for, but you will learn new streets, maybe find a new store or discover the location of a new and enjoyable club or other organization or even a better job. The mountain might be too high to climb in one day, but you will find new trails, see the quicker route or find out that you CAN climb that rock. You may not be the world's strongest, but you lifted a weight that you never lifted BEFORE.
There are things that are possible, things that are not and things that only LOOK impossible. All big accomplishments are composed of little accomplishments. An old saying says that the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.
Let your interests and curiosity guide you. Do it for fun, forget about status and acclaim. You wake up with yourself, you're stuck with your life and you face yourself as you live and when you die. What you do and how you look at things is what determines your levels of satisfaction and self respect. Give life your best effort, there is nothing more you can do, nothing more that can be expected from anyone. THINGS CAN GO RIGHT, but only if you try and only if you let them and accept them.

Al Noeng

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