Repost: What you wish for

How Beliefs Impact our Lives

Back in 1999, the alternative rock band, Guster, released a song called, "What You Wish For." It's a powerful but subtle look at how our beliefs shape our reality.

The song begins by describing a grey sky to match a grey mood punctuated by the chorus lines:

And what you wish for won't come true

You aren't surprised love, are you?

By the end of the song, the harmonies and rhythm give way to a new possibility and we are uplifted by the slightly altered chorus line:

And what you wish for could come true

You aren't surprised love, are you?

Only one word was changed between the two choruses; "won't" was replaced by "could."

Such a small change for such potentially huge results. 

A belief with no possibility, as expressed by the line, "And what you wish for won't come true" was turned into a belief with infinite possibility: "And what you wish for could come true." 

And, what's more, in each case the line was cleverly followed by the question:

You aren't surprised love, are you?

And why would we be surprised? 

Our beliefs tend to support our perception of the world; what we believe becomes what we see.

Rightly so then, in each case the belief is affirmed by the question which ultimately begs a further question for us:

where in our life can a "won't" become a "could?"