Stuck in the same old rut. Despite just changing my job, I have come to the point where I realise, this is not enough. Living in new age Singapore, where the needs and wants of every individual is ever increasing, just doing the bare minimum is NEVER gonna suffice. Truth? Yes.
The cold hard truth is whatever you're working towards for right now (the average Joe), studying for a basic/common degree OR working in a particular job and thinking that "I'm just gonna work and gain experience and see how it goes.."; hoping you'll score a sweet promotion by the end of (max 2 years) so that you'll receive a sweeter salary increment. The cold hard truth? It really isn't enough. Not if you are looking to live a worry-free, happy life. Truth is, you're still gonna be owing more than you have. Especially in these times where EVERYTHING is increasing in price. And our salaries aren't increasing. Or barely.
But what do we want?
A comfortable, "good enough to live through" life?
Or something more towards living on the edge, experiencing what Life has to offer in our approximately 80 years on Earth.
If you're honestly those kind who are easily contented with what they have, satisfied with being able to live simply.. Good for you! I admire you, really. To be able to look past all the temptations, and luxuries in life is no easy task. I for one, can't do it.
吃得好穿得好住得好. All we want is everything. Chances are, if your dream job doesn't pay well, you're most likely gonna fall back on something that pays well, but you live your life in misery.
I think the content of this post will probably be self contradictory at times. Or all the time. Probably because as Iim just typing as I go along. Whatever I think, flows from my brain, to my fingertips, onto the keyboard and onto this very screen you're looking at now.
Most of us, are probably gonna wind up doing a-okay in life. Passing it like any average person would. Probably better than other people in other countries, but as to our own expectation, we'd think we could do much better. "But I'll leave it as it is. What for pursue something that I have no confidence in?" Is this not the very barrier thats stopping us from our dreams?
Allow me to quote something from The Alchemist. Not something from all over the book, but something from the first few pages. (If I were to quote from all over the book, I would have quote the entire book. Thats how good it is.)
"..we all need to be aware of our personal calling. What is a personal calling? Its God's blessing, it is the path that God chose for you here on Earth. Whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend. However, we don't all have the courage to confront our dream.
Why?...
First: we are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear, and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But its still there.
If we have the courage to disinter (meaning: dig up [something that has been buried]) dream, we are then faced by the second obstacle: Love. We know what we want to do, but are afraid of hurting those around us by abandoning everything in order to pursue our dream. We do not realise that love is just a further impetus (meaning: force/energy with which a body moves), not something that will prevent us going forward. We do not realise that those who genuinely wish us well want us to be happy and are prepared to accompany us on that journey.
Once we have accepted that love is a stimulus, we come up against the third obstacle: fear of defeats we will meet on the path. We who fight for the dream, suffer far more when it doesn't work out, because we cannot fall back on the old excuse: "Oh, well, I didn't want it anyway." We do want it and know that we have staked everything on it and that the path of the personal calling is no easier than any other path, except that our whole heart is in this journey. Then, we warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know that the Universe is conspiring in our favour, even though we may not understand how.
I ask myself: "are defeats necessary?"
Well, necessary or not, they happen.
When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes. The secret of life, though, is to fall down seven times and to get up eight times.
So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?
Because, once we have overcome the defeats - and we always do - we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence. In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight. We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives..."
I'll give you a few minutes here to digest.
Pretty impressive right? Got you thinking didn't it?
Honestly, I just took the first step to building a better future for myself. Something that I believe was somehow, made for me. Like, fate. I know I used to say I want to be a journalist. But somehow, that dream seems further away that it already is. But I don't know if that is my
personal calling after all. I love writing. I love sharing my thoughts. But..
Told you I was going to be self contradictory.
Anyways, I have taken that one step towards something else. For now, that is going to be
my personal legend. Its time to take things in my own hands. No more procrastination. Got to strike that word off my dictionary, no?
Our lives are for us to construct. Anything, and everything is possible. I always believed that
we can have anything, but only if we want it bad enough. Do you want it bad enough?
Do I?
We shall see. Do share your thoughts.
