The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

The rest of our lives are being shaped now. Age is just a number. No matter how young or old one is, life is and shall forever remain a mystery. We all have our fair share of pain, all of us struggle. We all go through rough phases and luck is not always favorable; but seasons change and so do fortunes. Miracles happen when we believe in them. Life begins where our comfort zone ends. In order to achieve, its imperative to let go of the known and brace the unknown, unfazed and determined. Life is meant to be lived, every day. As William Shakespeare has very beautifully put worth, "Cowards die a thousand times before their death. The valiant never taste of death but once." It all comes down to one little word: Courage.

It is how courageous we are in a moment of crisis that determines how far we would go. The only limits that exist are the ones we imagine. We can achieve anything and everything is possible for us. We can be like an eagle soaring high up in the sky, or we can be a slow creeper, gradually gaining ground and ultimately, spreading over the entire jungle. How far would you go to make your dreams come true? What would you give up on? How will you ensure that whatever you have imagined possible becomes reality? Can you touch and feel your dream like it already exists?

Dreams are wonderful. I believe in the power of dreams, the infinite possibilities that each one brings; the promise of tomorrow, the liveliness of today. On your way to realizing your dreams, it is important to stop and smell the roses. Do you actually live in the present or is your life a constant worry about the future? What motivates you? What pulls you up and out of your weakest days? What is that one force which you believe in and constantly empower by thinking about it? What guides you? Answer this and you get several answers in life.

While for some of us, dreams are made up of sugar candy, consisting of our lover's sweet embrace, the warmth and comfort of a secure home, the feeling of having someone to come home to and the touch of a furry friend, many of us find ultimate peace in not living for pleasure. There are heroes in this world. Those who give up on an easy, comfortable life in order to seek a higher truth, solve a puzzling mystery of life, to answer the call of their souls and to find meaning to life other than the materialistic pursuits. These are the blessed souls who want to dedicate their lives to the service of others renouncing all forms of personal pleasures they might have been born with, for they believe, "Only a life lived for others is worth living."

There are others still, who don't "fit in" the society. To them this world exists beyond the ugly limits put on it by the so-called "society". Neither do they understand the norms or the culture of the society nor do they attempt to because they know that society is a bluff, a facade petty human beings create in order to label the wide variety of beautiful things on Earth as either 'Good' or 'Bad', without properly understanding or enjoying them. For the social misfits, this is the greatest crime, for they understand the language of the universe, the language of signs, they answer to the supreme being only and no lesser mortal can ever interrupt their path. Theirs is a spiritual journey, a journey beyond the comprehension of the advocates of a regular society.

Some of us just don't "get it". Some of us just don't "fit in". Some of us just don't agree with the way this society functions or thinks. Some of us are curious to a fault. Some of us question everything. Some of us get rejected, dejected. hated, critiqued and labelled. Some of us are different. Some of us are very special children of the one supreme being.

HOPE AND COURAGE

Life depends on hope. It feeds of the promise of tomorrow like a baby feeds off love. It is that quintessential entity which keeps the human race going. Animals don't have the mental faculty to comprehend this feeling and plants have little to do with 'hope'. Hope is positive in its passive form and when active it can be negative as well as positive. Statements like, "I really hoped for that to happen and now I m heart-broken" denote its negative side while something like, "I hoped for the best and the results were in my favor" throw light on the positive vibes emerging from this feeling.

Longing is a form of hoping. It is an extended structure. It is when strong hope for something is clouded by doubts or fears. We long for something only when we somehow subconsciously are aware that we can't have it. Our fear makes us want it even more and at this moment, hope turns a shade negative. When were the skies ever totally clear? When did they not hold the promise of sudden rains? It is impossible to attain totality. We can never really be too sure of anything. For to be so, one must be almighty. All we can really do is have the courage to follow our dreams. Nothing else is required.

The world will do all it can to dissuade us but the universe will always support the one who's heart is true, whose desire is mot maligned and whose purpose is clear. Courage is the first step. Courage in the face of opposition is a noble step. They say if you have a dream protect it even from yourself. So true! A friend once told me that the only thing standing between us and our dreams coming true is ourselves. Making it big in life is little about talent, it is almost 100% about the guts- the belief that we can manifest our wildest fantasies, that we can truly succeed beyond our imagination, the confidence to make it all possible whether we fake it or are actually feel it and above all, the COURAGE to face challenges and fulfill our soul's destiny in this universe.

An old saying goes, "Courage is not the absence of fear but the knowledge that something is more important than fear". Who has not been afraid of trying something for the first time? Who's legs haven't trembled before taking that first leap of faith-whether with a new job, an interesting opportunity or a relationship? How many times have you told yourself that such and such thing can't be done, or that it is just a silly dream which doesn't happen in "real" life? If you have told yourself any such thing then somewhere you have killed an innocent dream that could have manifested itself to take you on a journey of your life and then even if the result wasn't positive, you would have gained something priceless out of it. Also, "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is that silent voice in your head that says, Tomorrow I will try again." So, whatever the situation might be, don't get bogged down; Get up, Fight for your right with all your strength, Give life and yourself another chance and know that whatever happens you will Survive. As the famous Kelly Clarkson song goes:

 "I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,

I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky,

And I'll make a wish,

Take a chance,

Make a change,

And breakaway

Out of the darkness and into the Sun."