The Power of Believing...

Quote of the lifetime: “Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; and I want you to remember this, that love... true love never dies. You remember that, boy. You remember that. Doesn't matter if it's true or not. You see, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in.” – Hub, Secondhand Lions

I’ll admit. When I first went to go see this film with my parents many years ago, I had no interest in it. After seeing it though, I’m so glad my love for them made me give it a chance. I never would have guessed I would have been able to pull some scraps of wisdom from that flick. Not to mention its on my list of favorite family friendly movies now.

I find this particular quote fitting lately, as I realized that life, time, and experience has changed the things I believe in.
For example, when I was younger, I believed that “True love was worth dying for,” and all of those other wonderful things they tell you in romantic, heroic adventure films. You know, “love conquers all” and all that jazz. But now that I’m older, I understand that you can continue to breath, eat, drink, sleep, work, etc without having someone to come home to. (Afterall, that has been my everyday reality for the past 4 years now. I'm living proof that you can find contentment in 'flying solo' sometimes.) Now that I'm far from my childhood, I understand that sometimes, love just isn’t enough. If there is no motivation to grow and work together, than just saying , “I love you” seems hollow and meaningless. Love, to me, is a verb. Love does things, changes things, and motivates us. Love that doesn't do those things seems pointless and meaningless.

But while some of my beliefes have changed - some of them haven't.

I still talk to the stars sometimes just like I did when I was a kid (only now the monolouge is much more serious - and quiet).

I still believe that what is ment to be will be (and that man can’t screw something up so bad that God can’t fix it, if it’s ment to be).

I still believe that the role of “husband” and “wife” is one of the last remnants of honor left in this world – and should be treated as such by those involved in it. (Currently, I'm not sure if I believe I'll ever be a part of that sort of relationship again, but I know that things change and it may just be a phase I'm going through.)

I still believe that imagination is more important than knowledge (thank you, Einstein).

I still believe that falling asleep in the arms of someone who treasures you can make the world spin the right way, no matter what is going on beyond those arms.

I still believe that each day is a new day to make a new start.

And I still believe that as long as I keep waking up on this side of dirt - there is hope to be found.