This Blank Page

As I sit staring at this blank page, wondering what to write, I am thinking about this beautiful new day and how it is a little like this blank page. Everything I do, everything I say has yet to be determined. I am the master of my choices and the possibilities are endless. I can take this day and this page and make of it whatever I choose.

In spite of the 'blank page' effect, however, human beings are often bound by their past. Habits formed over years' time make strong fetters for our lives that can be nearly impossible to break. I say nearly because they are not impossible to break, just almost impossible. But if you think of your day, or even your life as a blank page, with the key of choice in your own hand, it does not seem so impossible.

There is something in my life that I have wanted to do for a long time. I have known of it's value for many years and yet, I have not actually done it. Why? Well, I suppose it might be habit or fear of failure or just laziness. But whatever the reason, I realized only this very minute that the only thing between me and the accomplishment of my goals is me. My habits of thought and behavior, perhaps begun in childhood, color my blank page every day and I stand by and let it happen.

If you like what your page looks like every day, then I suppose there is no need to change it. But if, at the end of the day your page is not what you had hoped, then there may be a need. Some people are oddly indifferent towards their blank page, as if they expect someone else to fill it up and then sit around complaining about all the things they don't like about it. It's like some people I have read about who will go into a doctor's office and expect him to 'fix' what is wrong with them. But when the doctor asks the person about his lifestyle and finds out that the cause of the 'illness' is poor habits and deliberate self-destruction, the person becomes defensive and angry saying that the doctor's job is to 'fix' the problem, not tell him how to live.

A blank page can also be intimidating. Some people are not comfortable with taking responsibility for their choices and their lives. They want to allow life to happen to them, while they complain, worry or just don't care. On top of that, blank pages and empty days can be filled so easily with wasted hours and mindless entertainment that many now spend their whole lives in this manner. I guess the real question is: Why should anyone try to do something besides waste their days?

Even in a very narrow view, life is spectacular. Speaking in terms of humanity, there have been thousands of generations of human beings inhabit this planet. Billions now inhabit it, and if we can assume anything from that, billions more will yet be born. If that is true, then there is nothing more we need to know in order to have a reason for improving our lives. With my limited perspective, I can see some of the choices which my Great-Grandparents, Grandparents and parents have made and their attendant effects on me and my life. I now have the opportunity to live and choose. All people, not just my own posterity, could potentially be impacted by my life and decisions (take Thomas Jefferson, for instance).

It may not be the only reason, but it certainly is a reason for spending my days in the anxious pursuit of a worthwhile dream. My dreams today will largely determine the reality of my children tomorrow, just as the dreams of a few good men determined the destiny of this great country.

So, with the blank page of a new day in front of me, I feel like shouting: “Hooray!” because I have the power to shape the future, both for my children and for humanity. It sounds a little like magic beans from a peddler. OK. Anybody want to buy a cow?