Be Careful of What You Wish For

Another story about a very familiar quote, "Be careful of what you wish for", is Coraline. A story by Neil Gaiman, now turned into a movie by Henry Selick. Coraline is a girl who is bored with her family. Alone, ignored and lonely from having to move to a very plain and seemingly uninteresting town, she discovers a secret door that leads to a better version of her home where everyone - the neighbors, the pets and the parents are nicer and more exciting than the ones she had before. In this parallel world, everything seems perfect - its as if her wishes had come true but things turn scary when her "Other" parents, specifically her "Other" mother wanted to keep her in their world for good.

A story reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, its a story of trying to escape from the issues of the real world. In this "other" world, there are no pressures, no problems and the feeling of being loved and wanted is constant. You feel like everything is going your way and nothing can go wrong. Things get done without you having to break a sweat and people are at your beck and call. How wonderful, if places like Wonderland, Neverland and the "Other" world existed. But reality hits as hard and in this world, dreams may seem to only be achievable when we close our eyes and sleep.

I myself have wished to be blown away to these places whenever I felt like I'm neck-deep in problems and no one seems to understand or give a care. But in the end, I feel more depressed and disappointed because deep in my heart, I know that there is no such place, and that I won't be able to escape my concerns. But you know, even though its difficult to face your troubles, movies like, Coraline, remind you that a perfect world does not exist. Alice had to deal with the Red Queen trying to kill her, Peter is constantly hunted by the Captain Hook and the pirates and Coraline had to escape the "Other" mother. Perhaps wishing for a quick solution to your problems may lead you to even more trouble than you have begun with. That's why I believe in thinking twice when it comes to wishing. Unlike children, you don't think of the consequences but if you are an adult, its a whole new ball game. There is so much at stake when you make a wrong decision and one mistake can have a "domino-effect" that can make your life miserable and hopeless.

I want to say I have escaped my share of these wrong choices but I am after all still human and prone to mistakes so instead of just wishing for other worlds, dreaming of magical solutions, I turn to my own kind of escape, prayer. Silence and peace at the presence of God, I have never forgotten how many times I was recharged and comforted by just lifting my problems to Him. Though my problems remain after praying, I feel more hopeful that I can solve these issues with His help. By remembering His promises and feeling His love in the people that surround me, I get a new perspective and a new attitude that there is always a silver lining, that there is always sunshine after the rain and after I am reminded by that, "magic" starts to happen. I find solutions because my head is now clear of frustrations and negative thoughts.

I know that this life, obstacles, challenges, bad circumstances happen, even the people who you love and trust can betray and let you down, but be reminded that you are never alone. You can think that the whole world is against you and that nothing you do can make it all better, well, you're wrong. It's just a matter of having faith that God does not give you anything that you can't handle. He wants us to be brave and strong so that we can battle our personal demons and those of this world. Coraline could not escape the other world without first, battling head on the other mother, so we are not much different. We can't escape our troubles, we have to face them by ourselves but by first, getting help and being equipped with the right tools to confront our problems.

Don't worry, at first, it might seem impossible but remember, help comes to those who have faith and believe that there is always light at the end of dark tunnel.