I am nothing but a block of wood.

I just saw the movie Mr.
Magorium’s Wonder Emporium starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman. In
a scene from that movie, Mr. Magorium (Hoffman) gave Molly (Portman) a wooden
cube as a motivational gift. When she asked him what it’s for, Mr. Magorium
said it can do magic. A boring block of wood – do magic? “Imagine what it can do if at least someone believes in it,” said
Mr. Magorium.

We’ve heard it all before – that something that seems
uninteresting in the beginning can actually do wonders if given a chance. Same
with people, right? Well, I am a block of wood.

In my younger years, I knew that I could be somebody, but I
kept holding myself back. Many people have been willing to give me my time in
the limelight, but I simply turned them down; partly because I didn’t have
self-confidence, and partly because I was complacent. Throw in a little dose of
“fear of change” into the oven, and I was turned into a dull block of wood.

I spent half of my life thinking I was doing well. I let
opportunities whiz past me while I enjoy moving in slow motion. I was aware of
it, but the allure of the unhurried was just too beguiling to leave behind. It
was relaxing, gratifying, stress-free, cool. I loved it.

The over-achievers out there will kill me for this, or
worse, feel sorry for me. Don’t. I don’t have regrets, but I do wonder from
time to time about the “what ifs”. It’s during these times that I give myself a
kick in the butt to do more without overdoing things. Then I go back to sitting
still and watching people wonder if I can do something “magical”. For those who
were lucky, I showed them a few tricks that never failed to amaze them.

I like it easy. This block of wood’s ready for anyone who
wants to sit down for a while and chat. Who knows, you just might need a sturdy
block of wood to keep those stressful heaps of paperwork from flying all over
the place.