When did You Stopped Dreaming?

I was compelled to write my thoughts regarding this subject one sleepless-evening. Since sleep was clearly not going to be visiting me soon, and just maybe I had too much going on inside my mind, even more is this growing desire to share with you this personal experience.

I know it may seem odd, even crazy to some (you are not alone)...for I too did have doubts before. But before you throw that towel down, give-up or simply knock your head off for all the hardships you are now experiencing... please ask yourself the following questions first?

• Is this the kind of life you imagined yourself to be, when you were still a child?

• Are your thoughts now more focused on landing that job or keeping one?

• Did you altogether abandoned your dream and eventually stopped dreaming?

"Your dream (wish, goal, vision) is your map leading to life's destinations you desire most, without it, you are comparable to a train carriage attached and being pulled ever following where the main engine is heading, not even seeing where the track leads to."

As a growing man, I was always told by my parents to "shape up and get back on track".... soon my elder brother too were saying the same words with a little addition like: "what are you doing with your life?...get back on track!..."

Needless to say, I do not fully understand which track they were talking about?

Was it the "track" that my father have followed all his life?
Was it the "track" my elder brother fashioned after that of my father's?

Or was it the destination which I laid in my head as a child, whose "tracks" I never finished building?

In either case, it seemed hopeless, in one word I was "lost".(at least as per their standards).

It was this "aha" moment, that made me realize : that I did abandoned my own track. In youth I was a dreamer, I had great visions, wishes, goals that were all detailed. I had my vision for the house that I will be living in, the car I would be driving, the occupation or business I will have taken and the lifestyle I wished to have in the future.

My parents were quite appreciative of my goals, but then no one really told me how to reach them, make them a reality. Then probably the biggest "dream ender" happened, our family faced a FINANCIAL CRISIS.

As normal human-beings, the best way to cope was to adapt to the new situation. My elder brother was really the obedient one and followed my father's every order....from schooling to going on a mission....returning home..... building a career and raising a family.

His track was like defined for him by my father and all he had to do was to shove coals into his engine and start chugging along. I was different, maybe to some hard-headed, adventurous...etc. but my reality bomb was dropped sooner than I expected, or probably faster as I refused to chug along the track that was laid before me. At 19.... I have changed my dream. What was grand and luxurious has been replaced by much more humbler ones.... from a dream of owning a business..into just dreaming of an undergrad landing a job.

What replaced those grand dreams were "crisis control", a realization that this is not an EASY life, that every penny you need...you must earn thru the sweat of your efforts. That money, is what defines you, your ability to earn and to give, grants you as useful and the opposite means your just a heavy slug pulling the budget down.

Your need to earn overpowers your desire to dream...routine work destroys the tracks of your dreams and replaces them with thorns, chains and pain knowing that you're just not one of those financially privileged in life that has the time to live their dreams.

Though simpler my dreams were now summarized as the following:

• Reaching the "sales quota" every month so as not to get FIRED.
• Have a place to gain my freedom.

And of course, (as what is expected of the universe to create)... I was living this new dream. Following down new tracks, diverting away from my childhood dreams (destination). At best, I could afford to rent a condo and once and for all be free of rules.

A good 6 - 8 years I did chug along these tracks, appreciative of everything, but deep inside there is this longing and realization that these tracks I am following are the very same ones I refused to follow at the age of 19 for the following major reasons:

• No security... your family, your life is always at the mercy of your employer.

• No time to spend with your family or enjoy the blessings of your labor as you will be required to do more work and more work... as your salary increases, your work triples...or quadruples even.
  

Please do not get me wrong, I admire those that were successful in pursuing their careers, but honestly, thoughts of being laid-off or fired did enter your minds every now and then. Maybe, its just me... but these thoughts haunt me...for the very reason that our family have gone through such a crisis and believe me...its not something you will like.

It is this very moment that I started going back to my childhood dreams... the very destination that I plotted inside my head which were shunned to a corner because I thought they were no good than that of "wishful thinking". So, at 28 I re-opened that dream.

No sooner than after 4 years, my life have evolved around that dream, that life has started to open up opportunities for me to realize them though not in their full-grandeur yet.... but now these new tracks I'm chugging along with ...I am confident and I passionately "KNOW" will lead me to that grand realization....sooner than I expect.

Magic? You BET, there is nothing more desirable in life than to wake up each morning or savor every hour of the day doing what you love and knowing that you are now empowered by the dreams you have.

We often heard the phrase: "DREAM BIG"...why? Simply because you get BIGGER REWARDS.

Dreaming BIG, nor reviving your dreams does not mean that you close your eyes 24 hours and just doze off to sleep land every day. Dreaming is different from SLEEPING. Yes you dream when you are asleep but this dream requires that you keep it not just in your head but more in your heart.

If you focus accurately on that dream (goal, wish..etc.) everyday... you will not notice it right away, but your body, your mind, the decisions that you will make will soon adapt to those thoughts. The universe will open up circumstances, opportunities, good fortune... etc... leading to the realization of that "MAP" or destination inside your whole being.

To help you focus it is best that you do the following:

1. Write it down on paper
2. Stick it to your ceiling right above your eyes so they will be the first things which you see when you awake and the last things you see before you close our eyes.
3. Read it aloud or to yourself....as long as it makes a sound when you read it. Include it on your prayer.
   
4. More than believing... you should KNOW that everyday you are getting closer and closer to the realization of those dreams.
   

A word of caution, doing the above exercises is not easy, in fact LIFE may even challenge you and give you exactly the opposite of what you're asking for, or present you with obstacles in the beginning. Take heart and have unwavering FAITH, for it is the universe testing you on HOW BAD YOU REALLY WANT THOSE DREAMS IN YOUR LIFE. Overcoming these obstacles or proving your greatest desire will leave the universe with no choice but to grant you as you wish..and even more.

My personal dreams may take me 2 - 3 -5 or even more years....but who's counting..? Live everyday as they come, what is important... is that I am now going through a journey which I have long desired and am loving every little step I'm taking along the way and when the day comes, it will be such a surprise that it wasn't really that long.


Do write your comments or any experience you have in using the above methods... I would love to hear and share them with everyone.