the universe says...

If life is a message from the universe to me, what it is really saying? Well I do believe that the truth is out there, but I still think that it depends largely on the individual's determination. I get to decide how I interpret what happens around me.

A little girl trips along, then slows to an amble's pace as the road climbs slowly. The sun beats along with her as she begins to sing aloud a song she learned by heart through repeated listening: Lennon/McCartney's 'You're gonna lose that girl' from her mum's Beatles compilation tape. Her errand - the corner shop and a packet of smokes for Mum. Her imagination - full of the image of herself as an adult in full evening dress standing on a stage and singing her heart out to a darkened audience. Wobbling her head awkwardly from side to side, eyes partially closed, the little girl imitates her imagined world.

She doesn't know that her crooked teeth and goblet shape will work together with her life choices and fate to prevent her from becoming the Shirley Bassey of her imagination. She listens to the sound of her own voice singing along to the music in her head and thinks, 'I sound good. Maybe I could sing when I grow up.'

And despite the mixed messages she receives from sinister voices (not least her own) as she grows up, telling her that she should indeed be afraid, very afraid... something of that early belief that the world is good, and that the beautiful fantasies are true as well as the dark ones, underpins all that she does. The world is dark and terrible, but also... ultimately... good.

What do you think the universe says? If you could sum it up in 3-10 words, what would you say you believe she is saying to you?