History: Everything is Going to be OK
I was watching the movie “Source Code” one evening and the last line in the movie was “Everything is going to be okay.” I thought this was totally absurd as the man this message was directed to was literally cut in half, on life support, and not standing a chance at life, but these six little words provided such a level of comfort to him, it was believable, and he believed, even though his circumstance was dire.
I think about this phrase, and realize how important this phrase has been to me, and for that matter all of us our whole life. When I was a young boy, and needed stitches, I was scared to death. When my mother told me I was going to be okay, I calmed down, and allowed the doctor to stitch me up. Only later did I learn that my mother was at her wits end, on her last leg, and in shambles about this, but her words provided me the strength I needed to get through my ordeal. I find myself saying the same thing to my daughter. We recently learned her platelet count was extremely low; so low that it could require hospitalization. My daughter, upon hearing the news that something was not right with her, immediately looked at me to see my facial expression, and waiting to hear those six little assuring words from her dad. I said them to her, just as my mother said this to me, even though the outcome in both instances at the time, were uncertain. As it turns out, everything was okay in both instances, but we must wonder; was everything alright because everything was alright, or did everything become alright because we were told everything was going to be alright, and the receptors in our minds were, at that moment, programmed for this positive determination, therefore making everything okay? We may never know, but when things are bad, I crave those words from my mother, or from a person who is in a position of authority.
Today, we all are facing an economy that is very uncertain; a major drought, an incredible heat wave, high gasoline and food prices, wildfires that destroy our homes; the list goes on and on. We are all asking the same question; “Is everything going to be okay?” The answer is yes, we are all going to be okay. We will make it through these tough and troubled times, but we will be faced with changes, and we sometimes have a hard time with change. I laugh at myself when my bank periodically recommends changing my password and I resist because I am used to my current password. We cannot sustain our way of life in the way we have always done things. We are currently questioning how all levels of our Government operate, and it is how we adapt as individuals and as a city, to changes above us as well as below us that will define us.
Do we adapt, and embrace change as it presents itself, or do we continue on the same path of doing things the way we have always done them?
I for one believe that tomorrow is going to be better than today. I have always believed this. This past month we have seen fires all over our state. We in Leander have now felt this first hand. In these tough times, I have seen extraordinary people rise to a level that I have witnessed first-hand. With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 upon us, we can reflect on how we saw our first responders and ordinary people rise to a level that was incredible. My father is from the “greatest generation”, and the greatest generation rose to a level to rid the world of evil. In Leander, two wildfires broke out over the last month and destroyed or badly damaged many homes. No lives were lost thank God. In these rough economic times, I have seen an army of volunteers and a mountain of donations poor into the city for those who lost everything and are desperately in need of helping hands. Citizens from Leander and around the State came through, helping those in need, and what I saw was the love and compassion that we have for one another and that tells me, without a doubt, is that everything is going to be okay.
Pol. Adv. Paid for by John D. Cowman. Mailing Address: 1920 Holly Hill Drive, Leander, Texas 78741 (Tel. 512-789-5000).
John D. Cowman subscribes to the Texas ‘Code of Fair Campaign Practices” Act, TEC:[EC § 258-001-009] Texas Ethics Commission.