The Mind's Errand

The danger of a wish is it's fulfillment.

I saw "The Good Shepherd" this evening. It was an intense and confusing film, one that needs to be seen at least twice for it all to make sense. It touches on themes of trust, secrecy, truth, and loneliness. I found myself intrigued by each of these themes and how difficult it can be to make choices. Intelligence. Counterintelligence. Information. Misinformation. Friend. Enemy. The lines bleed together. The choices are never easy. Enemies become endearing because they know you like no one else can. They are your opposite number. Their choices mirror your own. All very fascinating.

A tiny little theme in the movie I took to came in a quote I hadn't heard before. It is from Ovid's Metamorphoses:

"...choose what you wish, and what you wish you shall have.” Pointing to a pile of dust, that had collected, I foolishly begged to have as many anniversaries of my birth, as were represented by the dust. But I forgot to ask that the years should be accompanied by youth.

Conquistadors searched America for the Fountain of Youth. Alchemists labored to create the panacea that would prolong life indefinitely. Even today, we have injections and plastic alterations to feverishly delay our aging. Since the time we have faced death, we have desired to outsmart it.

But who would, if by chance finding the genie in the bottle, tempted by the promise of long life, think to ask for those years in youth? And what would become of a person who aged to 200? Would we shrink into ourselves, unable to move, left to our thoughts? Is the fact that I frown at such a fate my own desire to resist the inevitably of aging? It's merely a fancy of mind, but one that captivated me nonetheless.

Can I muster up a lesson in this line of thought? Let's see... Think before you speak. Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes a nightmare is a dream come true.