Looking at things we can’t have – a good idea or not?

From my own dog-eared, oft-read copy of THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER (one of my all-time favorite books):

It was a picture of a ship–a ship sailing nearly straight towards you.  Her prow was gilded and shaped like the head of a dragon with wide open mouth. She had only one mast and one large, square sail which was a rich purple. The sides of the ship–what you could see of them where the gilded wings of the dragon ended–were green.  She had just run up to the top of one glorious blue wave, and the nearer slope of that wave came down towards you, with streaks and bubbles on it. She was obviously running fast before a gay wind, listing over a little on her port side…  And the sunlight fell on her from that side, and the water on that side was full of greens and purples. On the other, it was darker blue from the shadow fo the ship.

“The question is,” said Edmund, “whether it doesn’t make things worse, looking at a Narnian ship when you can’t get there.”

“Even looking is better than nothing,” said Lucy. “And she is such a very Narnian ship.”

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve done myself a great disservice by reading fantasy novel after novel about sword fighting, dragon riding, prince kissing, and other exciting things unlikely to ever happen in my real life.  What about you? Are there things, characters, or experiences you obsess over?  Are there “six impossible things” you really, really want?

Share