A friend in school long ago did a special sketch for me. Seemed hilarious to me then but looking back at it now I realize how true and real the drawing was. It was a good drawing as his talent was famous around campus. He was with the art department in the same school paper I was. Often he would do a sketch to go with my article. It was a big hit. Unfortunately I lost that particular drawing he specially did for me in the big flood that hit our town. And he, after our graduation, went away and was never heard from since. That was sad but I guess he had to do what he had to do – follow his dreams. Let me try to give you a rough representation of his drawing …..
(Drawing#1) Will attach the image later.
Uncanny – hilarious – silly – absurd – amusing – ridiculous – incongruous??? All of that I must say. Well, as you may well surmise he did a much better job than this lady's wacky effort, absolutely! J
Well, my friend despite his young age managed to encapsulate through his drawing the issues and challenges of a young person at a crossroad in life. Thinking back on his drawing now, I see how keenly and perceptively he imagined the struggles that a person would go through (the situations may vary) at this particular point in his life.
No, I will not try to explain those things written inside the ghostly shadow on the left (there could be even more than those specified here). I dare not, because I think each of those issues may vary from person to person. There is no general way of looking at it but subjectively. I live that open to interpretation by the reader himself for he alone owns up to individual and distinct experiences to lend him the mind and heart to understand it.
What I would venture out to do rather is to try to let that proverbial ‘key’ in the cartoon character’s hand be where it should be --- to free the chain that binds down our character.
Wrestling with these real issues is a daunting task -- Overwhelming, intimidating, and downright scary. You’re up not only against that but maybe against the people you love too and even much scarier – yourself.
What are we talking about? We are talking about following your dreams. You have dreams and so have I -- everybody has a dream tucked up somewhere inside. Some may be so lucky to achieve it without fuss – good for them. While others may still be biding their time, and others yet may be hanging it up on the shelf temporarily-- in the far recesses of their mind – to be taken up again when we’ll never know. Whichever one you may be, you will still come to that essential point in time that you may have to make that decision finally.
Understanding where you are at --- is the first step to the journey you may want to take. Size up the total picture of your circumstance.
--Know your present circumstance or situation – the good and the bad. See what things are not working for you anymore and which need to be changed. (Life’s imperfections can push you to want better.)
--Appreciate what good there is too but seek more to better or improve upon it. There is always room for improvement -- always. Even better can still be best – and best be excellent! (And when you have become ‘excellent’, don’t forget to share your success story, okay? Others may have need of it.)
--Anticipate some risk-taking too. Anything in life is laden with risks, big or small. Gear yourself up to risk but come out of it winning. You run the risk of coming across or may be get bruised and tossed about by the ‘villains’ in the race for your dreams, but that too –risks & villains- is part of the landscape. (No guts, no glory, remember?)
--Know the minds and hearts of the people around you – those closest to you. Sift through those feelings to see what things are rooted in unadulterated love and unselfish understanding of you as a person. That they truly see you as a unique and distinct individual -- a person in your own right; that they see you as who you are – not only as a son or daughter or ward. (Sometimes the umbilical cord never gets to be cut by parents who haven’t learned how to ‘let go’.)
--Then know what or which of all that can still be counted upon to be there for you or help you in the next step you will take. Most essentially see and know which ones are rigidly rooting you down, holding you back hard, chaining you to the mire, snipping you of your dreams, and trying to douse the fire or spirit within you – a spirit which is your birthright.
Be honest - Try to find it in the core of your being what you really want to do with your life. The future which lies ahead is still unknown and you don’t have the answers to it either at this point --- yet. But it’s all there waiting to be tapped. Are you ready for that? Are you ready to pursue your dream or dreams no matter what? Are you ready to win or at the worst scenario --to lose too? Nobody says it’s going to be easy and there are no promises for you either. But you can work at it because you know very well that only through hard work will you get there. And as for promises… who needs theirs?!! Because you can make promises to yourself – promises you will surely keep -- Promises you are in full control of. Who can stop you from doing that?! Lest you forget, God did not create a fearful heart inside you – but one that will do Him and yourself proud.
When you’ve got that all down pat, take one last and long hard look -- this is the time when you are still allowed to change your mind. And worry not cos it isn’t cowardly to tarry or delay a bit --if it means you need just a little more time to think. When you’re ready -- make up your mind. But don’t wait too long… cos time waits for no one.
Going back to the same drawing, I thought that it was …‘incomplete’. Something yet was missing. I guess my friend couldn’t see that far because he may not have the answers to his own questions then. Maybe that’s why he had to leave to seek those answers too.
Well, again let me try to sketch the end part of the drawing – to put in what I thought should be in it too.
Drawing#2) - Will attach the image later.
There you go – where this whole exercise is leading to. Where you are going is what truly matters! And not where you came from. So then get that key into the lock, set you free, and start walking… Err… running! :-)
Run hard towards your dream. The race belongs to the one who FINISHES. Not necessarily to the one who finishes first or how fast he ran or flew towards the goal. Your power lies in how you run the race – not necessarily in winning it.
God bless your dreams. God bless you. :-)
posted on Thursday, April 26, 2007 10:54 AM
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