Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star...

The only rule of magical thinking is the thought must be impossible for human minds and hands to make it come true.  "I wish he/she would stop drinking."  "I wish I was rich (good one!)."  "I wish I wasn't fat."  "I wish someone would love me."  Okay, I think the point has been made.  Wishing is magical thinking.  Wishing goes hand in hand with "If only" thinking.  "We could do this if only..."  "If only they would give me a chance..."  When you begin magical thinking you have left the road of reality.  Harsh?  Yes, but then reality can be that way.  "I wish I could have..."  You don't have.  So what can you do?  Stop wishing for things to be different.  Stop wishing you had or didn't have this or that.  Leave the "if only" for those who refuse to stop wishing.  Where does this leave us?  It leaves us with reality.  "I wish..." and "If only..." are phrases that set us up for failure, disappointment, and hopelessness.  This erroneous thinking begins when we are kids, is firmly planted when we begin school and a regular part of a lot of the populations daily thinking.  How old were you when you learned "twinkle, twinkle, little star."?  We haven't even touched on how someone sneaks into your bedroom and turns a tooth into money, how a rabbit can lay multi-colored eggs, or any number of other life altering behaviors we pass onto our children.  They learn the belief is false, are disappointed that the magic is gone and grow up to pass it onto their children.  Why is it that we do this?  Is it because we don't believe anyone should have to face reality?  After all, "they are little only for a little while and this is harmless."  I used to have this crazy behavior of telling God that I would not speed again if he helped me get to the gas station.  Yeah, I know, I still speed sometimes!  The good news is that I almost always made it to the next gas station.  Ever push your luck?  If the gas prices were too high I would go on to the next station even though my gas gauge said "EMPTY!"  Might just as said, "You're an idiot."  "It won't hurt if I do this/that just this once."  Hurt who?  For beginners, my relationship with God, my family, my friends and co-workers.  Kids are the best!  My son (14) asked (as I was driving down the highway.) if it was illegal to cross the double white lines separating the commute lane from the rest of the lanes.  He is so observant because he saw the "do not" sign.  The question itself was a reality check.  I now had the option to answer honestly or to justify my wrong behavior.  I did the right thing.  I answered honestly.  He remained silent.  It was kind of like he woke up and asked the question almost if God were asking me the question.  Okay, okay!  God was asking me the question.  I was thinking that magically there would be no cops around.  I'm 61 and still find myself in magical thinking land.  What chances do my kids have of escaping this in their lives?  God tells us to simplify our thinking, to do right and to give Him the glory in our lives.  It's pretty simple.  We don't thank God for Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny though, do we?  God wants us to know that he has our whole life in his hands and he knows what he is doing.  Today I'll attempt to give him full reign in all of my life.  Tomorrow I'll try again.  Hopefully, some of this will be absorbed by those around me.  Have a great day!