57 Channels and Nuthin' On

The comic, "Mutts" depicts a cat sitting in an easy chair with the television remote and he comments, "I finally get the remote and there's nothing on." It's easy to identify with this frustrated feline because, despite the promise of channel proliferation, cable television often fails to live up to expectations. Talk about life imitating art.

But there's more to this scene than the obvious truth. It depicts the fear that can keep a person's feet in cement overshoes, figuratively speaking. "What if I put all my efforts into ________ (you fill in the blank) and then have nothing to show for it? What if I get to the end of the road only to find it's a dead end?" Probably everyone who has gone after a dream has heard this from someone.

There was a person in my deep dark past (why is the past always deep and dark?) who used to say, "Better take what you can get because you might not get what you want." I believed that for many years until one day I realized, if you take what you can get, you may become so preoccupied with it that you never recognize what you want when it comes along.

In the wonderful film, Treasure Planet, the character of pirate Long John Silver says, "You give up a lot, chasin' a dream." For him, it meant a foot, arm, and an eye. The other side of it is, you gain a lot, too. And in his case, it was redemption. Maybe that's what waits for everyone at the end of the rainbow: a chance to redeem the past by valuing something greater than ourselves. I don't know for sure: I'm musing this morning. But I love redemption stories because they reinforce my belief that hope should be nurtured, not taken away.

I live near the end of a dead end street and I marvel at the cars that pass in the summer with the apparent expectation that the road goes somewhere, after all. People drive by and a few moments later, drive past again, going the other way. I've jokingly said we ought to put up a sign that reads, "Dead End: Did You Think We Were Kidding?" But it's not really a dead end. It takes you to my house and two others beyond. For those who live there, the road leads home.

Maybe that's the point of taking the path that seems daring or even dangerous to the risk-avoidant. They only see the potential "dead end" sign, but for those who see things differently, the path of a dream leads to that one best place in all the universe: it leads home.