Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
Listen to the DONT'S
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me -
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
- Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends
This little poem was a tremendous source of encouragement for me at various stages in my youth. Although we can all agree that one's optimism and hope for the future must be tempered by a realistic sense of one's limitations - there are many things that we may not be able to achieve due to various circumstances in our life - that feeling of possibility must be opened up to a child in the first place if he is ever to venture beyond the safety of complacency.
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