BACKGROUND:
What is the relationship between intent and outcome? Does the Field of Dreams quote, “if you build it, they will come” have truth to it? Not exactly, but it does allude to an important and true concept (which is likely why we still quote, and misquote it today).
Metaphorically speaking, attention plants a seed, while effort, time, and action give the seed the best opportunity to grow and thrive. However, there is no certainty the seed will grow, what the plant will look like, or whether it will produce fruit(that’s all up to nature and luck). Planting the seed and tending to it increases the odds that it’ll grow something, but it doesn’t ensure it.
The inverse, however, has more certainty. If you pay no attention to an idea and make no effort to manifest it, you decrease the odds of it materializing. If it does materialize it will almost certainly come from someone else who dedicated attention and effort over time. The more time, attention, effort, and thought you apply to an idea, the more likely it is that something will come of it. If we build a baseball diamond and never go there again there is less chance of people coming. If we put effort into tending to the field and we are more likely to attract an audience.
Despite this, things are rarely guaranteed to happen in a specific way despite our intentions or efforts. Some of the goals that we work for simply never manifest, never manifest in a recognizable way, or never manifest in the time-frame expected.
The Law of Attraction, the Manifestation of Thought
There is a concept called, "The Law of Attraction". In simple terms, it’s the idea that thought can bring things into your life because “like attracts like”. If you think happy thoughts, you will be happy. If you believe in something enough, you will attract it into your life. This concept is often misunderstood to mean that if we believe something will happen, it will. In reality, there is no guarantee something will happen or happen as intended, but one’s mindset may well be instrumental in increasing the probability that a thing will happen.
Shoeless Joe metaphor, action, time, and effort are added to thought. Even then there is no guarantee. In the novel, even though Ray builds the Field, if they come may or may not happen at all regardless of desire or effort.
Still, manifesting reality with thought and willpower is an old concept that can be seen throughout history in phrases like “mind over matter” and “manifesting one’s will”. In fact, anytime we take something from an idea and apply it to reality we are “manifesting thought as reality”. If you think about building it but take no action, nothing happens; if you take action, you increase the probability of a desired outcome. The more time, effort, and attention you give to a thought and project, the greater chance of its success.
Shoeless Joe deals with the idea that if we believe in something enough it will happen. That of course is not an absolute truth, so it gets rated as myth, but there is a lot of truth behind the concept. If you build it, they may come. If you build it, they might not come. If you don’t build it though, they definitely won’t come. To quote the lottery, “You can’t win if you don’t play.” Attention and effort overtime does improve the likelihood of the intended outcome. If you build it, and focus enough thought and effort on it, you increase the odds of them coming. Difficulty varies by subject.
The central character in Shoeless Joe is Ray Kinsella, the Iowa farmer who builds a baseball field on his land. Like Don Quixote, Ray envisions an impossible dream and then works to make it into reality for himself and those who believe in him.
The author W. P. Kinsella presents the concept of "if you build it, they will come" throughout the novel. Write an essay that argues your position on the extent to which Kinsella's claims are valid. Use appropriate examples from our reading, experience, or observations to support your argument. (You may support, disagree or refute)
