Grey's Anatomy
from the TV series created by Shonda Rhimes
(from the episode "If Tomorrow Never Comes" written by Krista Vernoff)
Dr. Meredith Grey: (voiceover) A couple hundred years ago Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that 'til tomorrow, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity; you'd think we'd pay more attention to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of pain, fear of rejection. Sometimes the fear if just of making a decision. Because... What if you're wrong? What if you make a mistake you can't undo? Whatever it is we're afraid of, one thing holds true: That by the time the pain of not doing the thing gets worse than the fear of doing it, it can feel like we're carrying around a giant tumor. And you thought I was speaking metaphorically... 'The early bird catches the worm. 'A stitch in time saves nine.' 'He who hesitates is lost.' We can't pretend we haven't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time; heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day. Still, sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrows run until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin meant. That knowing is better than wondering. That waking is better than sleeping. And that even the biggest failure, even the worst most intractable mistake, beats the hell out of not trying.
(from the episode "It's the End of the World" written by Shonda Rhimes)
Dr. Meredith Grey: Okay. The man I love... has a wife. And then he chooses her... over me. And that wife... takes my dog. Okay, she didn't take the dog... I gave it to her. But I didn't mean to give it to her; I meant to give it to him. But that does not change the fact that she has my McDreamy. And my McDog. She's got my McLife. And what have I got? (pauses) Do you know, I can't remember the last time we kissed? 'Cause you never think the last time's going to be the last time - you think there will be more. You think you have forever, but you don't. Plus my conditioner decided to stop working and I think I have brittle bones. I just - I just need something to happen. I need a sign that things are going to change. I need a reason to go on. I need some hope! And in the absence of hope, I need to stay in bed a feel like I might die today.