Second Chances

…..a retelling of the story

of Ivan Osokin

Ivan Osokin is a character from a 1905 novel

written by PD Ouspensky. Ivan was a quick-fix,

short- cut, easy- answer kinda’ guy. When Ivan reached maturity it suddenly came to him that

he had lived his life always taking the easy way out

with very bad results. He decided to change.

He would go to the Wizard to ask for a second chance. He was so sure that next time he would do

Everything differently. Everything. The Wizard assured him he would have a second chance with

just one tiny hitch. He would not remember having

lived his first life.

So Ivan was born into this world again and he did

everything exactly as he had done the first time.

Exactly.
Horrors! Well there was only one thing to be done: he would go to the
Wizard and get a second chance! “Hmmm”…you say. “Did I read that right?”

This is not an unusual story at all. In fiction it happens all the time. For
example: William Shakespeare used it. Remember Merlin? How about

All those Harry Potter books? And the scarecrow,

The lion and the tin man were all off to see the Wizard.

What do you suppose they were trying to tell us?

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