Anything is Possible
Photo Credit: Mikayla Anding
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” ~ Shel Silverstein
For the month of December I’ve been writing blogs about Christmas celebrations of the heart. Today’s post is a short fiction about the New Year’s Eve tradition of making resolutions. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go with this, until I read my friend, Amanda Le Rougetel’s blog about hope. As always, I look forward to hearing your comments.
It’s New Years Eve and a small group of book club enthusiasts have gathered at the home of this year’s host member, Priscilla. It’s an intimate group, only twelve people in attendance, all as different from one another as imaginable, united only by their love of reading. Every month they each choose vastly different books from one another, and they each hold equally diverse opinions about each selection, but they have all agreed to disagree respectfully, and in turn, they have all grown to care deeply for one another.
In the corner of the living room nearest the cozy gas fireplace, four people, including Priscilla, have come together, drinks in hand, to talk about their hopes for 2026 and for the future. Priscilla is a young thirty-something career woman who was born in Winnipeg, whose hope is red and intense and unstoppable. Raheem is a twenty-something man who recently immigrated from Punjab, whose hope is taupe and malleable and eternal. Eileen is a forty-something stay-at-home mother of two, originally from Alberta, whose hope is golden and invested and optimistic, full up with her children’s light. And lastly there is Keith, a fifty-something investment banker, divorced with a teenage daughter and in the throes of a mid-life crisis, whose hope is blue and desperate and uncertain.
“Did you see the clip on the CBC about the latest batch of Epstein documents released by the U.S. Justice Department?” Priscilla says. “They’re trying to pin everything on Clinton now, instead of Trump. It’s so disgusting, how this bullshit just keeps being bogged down by one diversion tactic after another.”
“I know, right?” Eileen chimes in. “I mean c’mon, how many whistle blowers have to come forward before Trump is finally held accountable?”
“You can say what you want about his jackass personality,” Keith disagrees, “But the guy has turned things around economically for the US better than any of our feel-good libertarians here. You have to separate politics from your feelings and vote for the guy who will get the job done.”
“Nice one,” Priscilla seethes. “And of course, it has to be a guy, right? Sometimes I…”
“Now wait a second Priscilla,” Raheem interrupts. “It’s not fair to pin gender discrimination on Keith just for using the word guy. Everybody uses guy to mean people in general.”
“I never accused Keith of being a misogynist,” Priscilla defends. “I only mean to point out his general lack of awareness. That’s one of the biggest problems of our time if you ask me— the zombie state of unconsciousness everyone is walking around in, totally brainwashed by social media, and even traditional media like the CBC.”
“Oh please, not more of the old CBC conspiracy theory conjecture, that it’s just a platform for the views of the political party in power,” Eileen moans. “I’m so tired of hearing that lame and unproven accusation. Can we at least stick to the facts?”
“The facts, as so many people are disillusioned into thinking, are not facts at all,” Keith bursts out with emphasis. “Everything we consume in the news is opinion, with a motive and an agenda.”
“Well, as a newcomer to this country and a relative outsider, I believe I have a little more objectivity on the matter, and I must say, I have to believe that the majority of people are good, with good intentions, including journalists,” Raheem adds quietly.
“You know what they say about intentions,” Priscilla scoffs.
“I believe it’s something about the road to hell being paved with them,” Eileen pipes in, her cheeks rosy with spirits and their spirited conversation alike. “But if you ask me, that adage is only a partial truth, as most are. Yes, your intentions matter, but your actions matter more. I see it with my Joe all the time. He has such a good heart, and means well, but then his self-interest overrides his better judgment and he makes the same poor decisions over and over, every time saying sorry. Last time he said sorry again I put my foot down and told him not to both apologizing if he was only going to keep lying about his various transgressions.”
“Did you actually use the word transgressions?” Keith laughs. “I don’t think my Joanna would understand what you meant, let alone your Joe. What is he now? Four?”
“He turned five last month,” Eileen laughs. “So you’ve made your point, but what really does that matter? We were talking about the intentions of the people in power, who are making all the decisions, that affect all of us, and all of our dreams for the future.”
“Now there’s a better topic for discussion!” Raheem laughs, wiping a tiny bit of eggnog from his top lip with the back of his sleeve.
“Yes, I agree, let’s change gears,” Keith says. “Although to be honest, I don’t have many dreams left. Most of mine have all crumbled and fallen apart.”
“Awe, now, don’t be so doom and gloom all the time,” Eileen says gently. “I don’t mean to downplay how hard the divorce has been. I have no idea what I’d do in your situation. But you have been blessed with a good income, and you’ve really been successful in growing your wealth. And then, of course, there is Joanna. Children are always a light of hope for the future.”
“Humph,” Keith snorts. “That’s easy for you to say, and I’m sure I would have agreed wholeheartedly back when Joanna was a young child. She used to adore me back then. Hung on every word I said and thought I was a superhero. Now she thinks I’m an idiot.”
“I’m sure that’s not true…” Eileen begins.
“Perhaps, just a little,” Priscilla giggles, having just downed her third glass of Prosecco. “But I’m young enough to still remember my teens vividly and it was hard as hell even then. I think it’s even harder these days. Especially for girls. There’s so much pressure to look flawless, and we’re sexualized younger every year, not to mention the impact of social media. You couldn’t pay me to go back in time to those years.”
“That’s one of my hopes,” Eileen says with a sigh. “That by the time Christina is a teenager, all of that will have shifted. You know, one of those huge pendulum swings.”
“Like back to the old days, of high necks and no rights, women as chattel?” Priscilla asks. “No thank you! You might as well transport her to some backward Middle East country where you can cover her head to toe in an abaya and niqab!”
“Hey now, that’s not fair to judge a culture or religion you don’t have any understanding or experience of,” Raheem says. “Remember all the misguided notions you used to have about the Hindu religion, before you met me?”
“He makes a good point,” Keith says. “But it does seem we’ve strayed again. Let’s all take a moment and consider one hope we want to plant for the coming year and then each take our turn sharing. No interruptions.”
There is a moment of silence as each of the four consider Keith’s words. Each of their minds start spinning with all of the possibilities. How to boil it down to one hope?
“My deepest longing is for Joanna and me to be close again,” Keith says. His vulnerability falls like a cloak and shrouds them all in quiet sadness for their friend. Eileen rubs the back of his shoulder as they all mutter their agreement.
“My hope is for a new world order to rise from the chaos of our time, a complete reset, like Noah’s ark, but like in Eckhart Tolle’s wise way of putting it,” Priscilla says.
Keith wonders who Eckhart is, but Raheem and Aileen nod their heads up and down.
“My hope is for people to stop seeing the different colours of our skin, to see inside us, to the person we are, in our spiritual essence,” Raheem says.
“Well, that’s one thing all four of us agree on, I think,” Eileen says. “And that leaves me. What is my hope? Well, it’s more of a belief, rooted in my faith, that all of this mess and chaos is part of a divine perfect plan, and that none of needs to worry, or think it’s our job to change it. I don’t mean to say we shouldn’t work hard to be better. Just not to worry so much.”
“Quite a lofty wish, my friend,” Priscilla laughs again. “But cheers to you, and to all of us! No matter what the next year brings, we’ll all be reading and debating and growing together, rooted in our knowing, that anything is possible.
COMING UP…
Books & Projects:
· All four of my books are available online at Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, and Barnes & Noble. You can also find them at select Chapters-Indigo and El Hombre de la Mancha bookstores.
· I am pursuing representation from a traditional publisher for my fifth literary fiction, a psychological drama that explores the complexities of mental illness and trauma. Stay in touch by signing up for my blog or following me on social media to find out when it will be published.
Reviews & Interviews:
· You can read, listen, or watch a large selection of reviews and interviews on my website.
Events:
· There are no events currently scheduled in my calendar.
YouTube Channel:
· Watch The Rogue Scorpion trailer.
· Watch The Holding trailer.
· Watch The Healing trailer.