“Though rapture brings us delight, the weakness of our nature at first makes us afraid of it, and we need to be resolute and courageous in life.”

Saint Teresa of Avila

But it is not the fear of delight which leads us to failure, rather the fear of failure that drives us from that which we delight in. We, people of ample mind and soul, are wrought of a distress of the unattainable.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

FDR

Fear: 1. feeling of anxiety; an unpleasant feeling of anxiety or apprehension caused by the presence or anticipation of danger. 2. worry; a concern about something that threatens to bring bad news or results.

Failure: 1. lack of success; a lack of success in or at something. 2. something less than that required; somebody or something that is unsuccessful.

Impossible: 1. not possible; not able to exist or be done. 2. too difficult; very difficult to deal with and apparently without a solution. 3. not endurable; unbearably difficult or not possible to endure. 4. not believable; ridiculous or unreasonable, because not able to be true.

What we inherently believe is impossible, we bother not to attempt for the absolute belief of failure. But this is only a belief, an unproven acceptance of truth. We know not what we are capable of achieving until we put forth the effort to make an attempt.

But here is an ode to the impossible. It is impossible to sail a boat around a flat earth, thus Columbus proved the earth is round. It is impossible for a being without wings to fly, yet because of the Wright brothers, millions of people fly everyday. It is impossible to harvest the powers of Mother Nature, although we can turn night into day thanks to Thomas Edison. It is with complete disregard for the unachievable, that great men through history have created the luxuries which today we consider procedural.

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

George Bernard Shaw

In 2004, Virgin Galactic was started by Richard Branson and Paul Allen. Virgin Galactic is to be the first airline to offer commercial flights into space. The unimaginable is now attainable, so the next time someone tells you to reach for the stars, do just that.