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It Wouldn't Be Make Believe...
By
Mark Edgar Stephens |
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Sometimes you may be tempted to ‘give up’ on living your dreams, desires, and passions. Romantic relationships seem relegated to fairy tales. Familial relationships become a game of ‘trying not to offend’ or ‘let’s just get through this’. Relationship to self becomes a mantra stating, “That’s just the way I am and nothing is going to change”. Your job or career drags along as something to ‘get through’ until the weekend arrives. You may have blocked out the belief that your life could be something magical, fun, beautiful, and profound. You may think, “Why bother? It’s all just make-believe and I must live in the real world.” As long as this thought pattern and emotional state exists, more than likely, this will continue to be your reality. But, there is an alternative.
It’s Only A Paper Moon
1933 featured in the Motion Picture, “Take A Chance”
Lyric by Billy Rose and E.Y. Harburg
Music by Harold Arlen
Say, it’s only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea,
But it wouldn’t be make-believe if you believed in me.
Yes, it’s only a canvas sky, hanging over a muslin tree,
But it wouldn’t be make-believe, if you believed in me.
I really love this classic song because it is an invitation to alter your perspective about what is ‘real’ and what is ‘true’. Make-believe becomes reality through a willingness to believe that anything is possible. What appears as illusory can be beautiful and profound when viewed from a new mindset. That mindset has everything to do with permitting thoughts and feelings to align with the heart’s desire and with love in its purest, most unconditional form.
Without your love, it’s a honky-tonk parade.
Without your love, it’s a melody played in a penny arcade.
It’s a Barnum and Bailey world, just as phony as it can be,
But it wouldn’t be make-believe, if you believed in me.
All of life is a story. These stories are told from different perspectives. You are constantly telling your story through your words, thoughts, actions, and reactions. These stories can be viewed, like a circus show, as both corny and beautiful, phony and magical. It is up to each person to choose his or her own interpretation of each life story. None of the stories are ‘really’ true. They are only tales told from particular points of view. One hundred people who experience the same event will have one hundred different perspectives and stories about that event. Each person filters thoughts, emotions, and experiences through his or her own subjective point of view. To me, this is what the song, “It’s Only A Paper Moon” is all about.
Always in your life’s journey, you are presented with a multitude of choices. Your journey can either be dusty, old, cheap tunes played in a “honky-tonk parade” and a “penny arcade”, or something a bit more interesting, beautiful, and cherished. With a belief in yourself and the love that is available to you at all moments, you can experience something more than cynicism, criticism, and doubt.
Teach yourself to see and experience life at a more profound level. Catch your thoughts. Catch yourself thinking. The next time that you have a thought or focus on a situation in your life that is less than inspirational, interesting, or beautiful, make a conscious choice to see things from a different angle. Children do this all of the time. They see scribbled crayon markings as works of art. They make up songs that are worthy of grand concerts. Old rags become pirate hats and princess skirts. The pool is a vast ocean filled with mythical creatures. As an adult, your imagination still speaks to you of realities that are exciting and new. Adults are merely children who have grown older and sometimes forgotten that anything is possible at any moment. These possibilities are constantly tugging at your mind. They want to be noticed. They want your attention. Experiment with dreaming again. The next time a daydream appears, notice if it makes you feel good. If so, let it play out. Explore it. See where it takes your mind and emotions. Open up to possibilities. Open up to the idea that new life experiences are created from possibilities that may seem like ‘make-believe’. And, most importantly, remember that when you love someone or care about something deeply, unwaveringly, and with conviction, it is no longer in the world of ‘make-believe’. It becomes your reality.
It wouldn’t be make-believe, if you believed with me!
With passion and purpose,
Mark
Author's Bio
As seen on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC, TLC, and HGTV, Mark Edgar Stephens is a Behavior Modification Specialist and Life Coach with Passion and Purpose. His work focuses on creating a powerful, positive self-image and maintaining fulfilling personal and professional relationships through behavioral change and conscious choice. Mark uses many techniques in his work with individuals, groups, and businesses including body language, communication strategies, NLP, and hypno-diagnostic tools.
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