It is interesting where you sometimes will pick up a bit of wisdom. Today I got a little while watching an old episode of The Waltons.
Those who watched the show may remember the character of Cora Beth Godsey. She was often a source of bemusement for the others as she tried to live the life of the sophisticate in the backwoods of Virginia. While they were polite to her face they would often snicker behind her back
But in this particular episode she showed that she was wiser than most people thought.
She was talking with Jim Bob Walton, who had learned that because of bad vision he would have to abandon his dream of being a pilot in the Air Corps. She began by telling him that she knew what people thought and that she really didn’t care.
She then went on to tell him that when she was growing up she had never imagined being where she was. Her dreams were to be a dancer, or an actress or the wife of a wealthy aristocrat who would take her around the world.
She went on to explain that when she realized those dreams would not come true she made a decision. Rather than abandon them she simply adjusted the way she lived them.
By learning French and speaking a phrase from time to time she gave herself a brief vision of Paris. By studying the arts, watching the theater, listening to music, she lived her dreams in her soul, and was as happy as if they had come to full fruition.
Certainly none of us should abandon our dreams, you never know when they might come true.
But in the meantime, I think Cora Beth offers us a wise way to deal with life, living your dreams however they come true.