Shhhhhhh!
“Is that radio on the station?” I asked. Something didn’t sound quite right. Was my foggy brain from lack of sleep resulting in difficulty hearing or was the radio really not on the station? Regardless, I was hearing a whole lot of static from the back seat.
Sometimes a gentle touch of the dial (or button) is all that is needed to tune into the station. The same idea can be applied when I need to tune into the world around me. A little tweak is needed to hear things properly; further reading to tune into the real issue, learning more about something that piqued my interest or listening to another perspective of the argument or issue. More often than not, once we’ve tuned in we see and/or hear more about what it was that captured our attention or imagination. We grow from it and depending on how we take our learnings on board, we can become more compassionate and understanding.
This week, twice, in successive, but different podcasts the same theme emerged – books where story ends aren’t tied up neatly with a bright red bow and all is well, but rather the protagonist doesn’t get what they want and feelings of disappointment and sadness result. I tuned in. The podcast hosts went on to say real life happens. It’s true, rarely we read books, especially children’s books where everything doesn’t turn out in the end and they live happily ever after so to speak.
I understand why. We often read books to escape reality and books with seemingly unresolved problems don’t sell. Yet, we (or perhaps I should use I, but I’d be surprised if I’m the only one on the planet who thinks this) want to see ourselves, or part of our lives, reflected in the pages of the stories we read. After all, this is what often attracts us to a particular book in the first place.
The hosts, Allison Tait and Megan Daley from Your Kids Next Read, talked about how refreshing it is to read books like these, especially for children. Making the point that it is important for children to know that things don’t always turn out the way they want them to. The specific titles they were talking about didn’t stop at that point, they delved deeper into how the characters dealt with the setbacks and not getting the thing that they wanted. For the record, the books were not left unresolved, they offered the young readers ways to deal with the disappointments so all was not lost. This is how life works too, I’d suggest. We learn how to deal with difficult situations when things don’t turn out the way we hope, want or expect.
These podcasts really struck a chord with me partly because as I mentioned when I read, I want to see myself reflected in the books I read. The other reason, I’ve recently returned from two months in the Philippines where so much of what I saw and in many ways did, was never fully finished or resolved. Life was not and is not tied up in a bow with one simple resolution.
It sometimes takes a trip outside our comfort zone, whether physically or metaphorically, to remind us of this. I’m not saying that we all live lives that don’t have complications, or that they are easily resolved. Personally speaking, I’ve found that when I get outside my own comfort zone and live a life more closely entwined with others, outside my usual circle, I see the difficulties that others live with. I try not to get into comparison mode because that doesn’t do anyone any good. Instead I try to view the challenging or stressful events from the other person’s perspective. My opinion and experiences need to take a back seat, they are just that, mine and they are not those of the person I am with.
All of this to say that things aren’t always as they seem. I’ve found that when it comes to life’s stresses and challenges, regardless of where we live, there is no cut and dried happily ever after and sometimes there just isn’t a one. However, when I tune in and put the radio on the station, I can live a life more aware of the lives of others, the challenges they face and I can begin to deal with situations where there are no happy ever afters.
Musings By Macca 