So You Want the Goal?

Excerpt from The Leprechaun’s Story.

BY TANIS HELLIWELL

There was a young man. Let’s call him Hamish for the sake of our story, but it might as well be Lucie or Sam. And our young man, Hamish, was out walking one day in a field just outside Sligo in the west of Ireland. That’s the old part of the Emerald Isle where leprechauns and other nature spirits still live.

And young Hamish was one with his head in the clouds. Such a dreamer he was, but was he good at manifesting those dreams? Not at all! In fact, in his entire young life, he’d never managed to get any of his dreams. And why would that be, you may ask? Simple. He didn’t have his feet on the good earth.

Now, I’d been watching Hamish since he’d been a young ‘un and I’d taken a liking to him, weak though I am for young humans, and I’d decided to lend him a hand. So, when I saw him wander off the path and get himself stuck in the bog …you see what I mean…I decided to introduce meself.

“Hamish,” says I, “I’ve got a mind to help you.”

Meeting me gave him quite a start as I’m only about three feet tall and, with me lovely big ears and feet, it’s obvious I’m a leprechaun. He was struck dumb, so my solution was to keep talking.

“Lad,” says I, “Your dreams are great, but you can’t get a thing in the world unless you ground yourself on the good earth.”

“And how would I do that?” says Hamish, speaking in a shaky voice.

“’Tis easy, if you follow my advice ‘cos, if I say so myself, I’m an expert in the matter,” responds I. “First, and this is important, you choose one dream to hold on to. Something that warms the cockles of your human heart.”

“Then, are you still with me, lad?” I asked, as I could see his mind wandering again, “you take a practical step towards getting your goal and visualize getting it in your mind.”

“And then I get my goal?” asks Hamish, perking up.

“Well, yes and no,” answers I. “For sure my strategy will work, but you might have to take many PRACTICAL steps (I say for emphasis) and keep up visualizing the SAME goal (more emphasis).

“Right,” says Hamish, keen to get started, “Thanks for your help, little man. I’ll do as you say.”

“Perfect,” responds I, happy to have done a good deed for a human. “Your first goal is to get yourself out of the bog.”

A leprechaun always gets the last word.

CHARMED: Tanis Helliwell’s newest book, The Leprechaun’s Story, is available at www.Amazon.ca and at Pocket Books new location beside Kelly’s on Marine.

LEPRECHAUN LAUNCH

When: 7 pm, Friday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day

What: A book launch of this “adult fairy tale” by qathet author Tanis Helliwell.

Where: Library.