Closing Pandora's Box

It’s bee a very long time since you last wrote. You write very inspirative post,” said the General.

A few days ago, I decided to step outside into the garden and go looking for bugs. I didn’t get very far as the grass was too long; hugging my shins and almost reaching up to my knees in other places. And so, I sat down a few steps away from the kitchen door and watched. I sat there for over an hour. I saw life, I saw order, I saw determination, and I saw hope. Seeing and looking are two different things, but that’s a discussion for a different day. I was looking at weed filled grass but seeing something else. I’d like to share with you two photographs I took on my phone and you can tell me whether after looking you too can see that which I did.

Next to my leg on the right side was a dandelion and on the left some tiny pink flowers, through which were crawling many little insects. I watched them as they moved about on legs thinner than a single strand of my hair, gracefully scuttling about, almost as if playing hide and seek with me and my phone. But luckily (for me) there was one insect, so engrossed in what it was doing, it didn’t care about what I was doing, and so I took a picture of it.

It is normal for us to be so dazzled by surrounding beauty like of the flower, that we do not even notice the real beauty; the beauty of the effort put in by the miniscule insect to conquer the flower and reach its destination. In the same way in our lives it is those things, those people, that we take for granted who become like the insect in the picture above (do you see it?), that get forgotten in the presence of something seemingly more beautiful regardless of how temporary it is. Yet they are always there, trying and trying again, not giving up on what they believe, not giving up on you because that’s who they are and what they do. (Thank you, my dear insects friends).

They say, blow the dandelion away, make a wish and it’ll come true. And they wish for you to do this and that, so you give and give from the kind depths of your mortal heart, till there seems to be nothing more to give. You are left hanging and it takes so much strength. Hang in there my dear, have faith, grit your teeth together and remember the insect, unfazed by anything around it. The thing about being strong is that no-one asks how you are, or how you feel. So let me ask you now, ‘how are you today?’

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Photograph of insect climbing flower taken from personal photography available here.
Photograph of blown away dandelion taken from person photography available here.

The web of life. Sprawling. Interconnected. Laced together with fine strings of silk. Each thread, a different moment, a different relationship, a different entity, held together with the glue of emotion. Each fine fibre holds firm another, supporting and being supported. And yet at times it feels so flimsy and weak. All it takes is the blink of an eye, a moment, an incident, the breath of a single word to tear it all apart. And then you are left with the pieces of your life scattered across the floor. Battered, broken and longing for a reason to believe.

The silk of a spider is stronger than steel, they say. It acts as a place to sleep, a place to catch food and much more. Who taught the spider how to spin its web? We humans regularly demolish these beautiful structures. What do spiders do? They move on, and rebuild their lives, from scratch.

Bad things happen, but life goes on.
It is not long before we go are gone.¹

God gave everyone the ability to make a life for themselves. Yet, “we do not rise to the level of our abilities, but fall to the lies (sic) of our excuses”.² When it feels like it is all disintegrating, remember the spider. Every thread you lay, make sure it is stronger than steel. And try again. Remember, when it all seems to be falling apart, it may just be falling into place.³ Remember, and keep the faith.

*****

Thank you to B for giving me the idea for this post. I dedicate this to Tutti Fruitti and all others who are going through testing times.

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Photograph of an exposed web just after sunrise from personal photography, available here.
¹ A couplet from a poem I once wrote.
² This was a quote I posted on Twitter in the last couple of weeks, but I can no longer remember where / who it’s from.
³ This is another quote I posted onto Twitter a month or so ago. Unfortunately I cannot remember its source.

I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky. I think about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away.¹

I recently watched a filmed called ‘Dinner for Schmucks’. The film itself was full of crude humour, and personally I didn’t think it was all that. But there was a scene in it that I particularly liked and have shared it with you below:

When people tell us what we are doing is stupid, or we will never succeed, tell them, I am a dreamer.

You can only dream if you believe. If you believe in yourself, your ability, and what you want to do. Don’t just be a dreamer, fulfil those dreams of yours and don’t let anyone take them away from you.

I am reminded of my high school’s motto:

Vincit Qui Patitur
He who perseveres, conquers

Happy dreaming!

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Title: I Believe – Yolanda Adams
¹I Believe I can fly – R Kelly [Title of a previous post]
²Dinner for Schmucks [film] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427152/

I’ve always loved sitting outside talking to the stars. Charley and I did it quite often. We would share our secrets, our hopes and our dreams sitting there covered in the silvery blanket of the stars and the moon.

“Every night I go to bed, I look at the stars and wish that one day I could just reach out and touch one of them,” she said with a glint in her eye. A glint of hope, of want and of a dream.

*****

When we were young we had many dreams. Some of us dreamed to be cowboys chasing bad guys on horseback, some of dreamed to be power rangers using kick-ass moves to save the planet from evil aliens, some of us dreamed to be train drivers flying on land, some of dreamed to be pilots gracefully roaming the air like birds, whereas others dreamed to be trees (yeah that was me, don’t ask). As we grew older and saw more of what the world had to offer our dreams changed.

Are dreams just for little children? It’s easy for us to believe, and many of us do, that the person sitting next to us in biology class would be an excellent surgeon, the cousin who breaks all his toys will one day be a skilful engineer and the neighbour’s little girl who can so convincingly change her mood will one day be a famous actor. But why do we never think ‘that could be me’? Our mind never happens to cross the path of aspiring. Believing in a dream is hard work. You don’t have to tell me about it. It is just so much easier do to nothing. But what if there comes a time when you can no longer do nothing?

People who really dream never give up, no matter how many legs are stuck out in front of them. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start again. It’s like an obsession which clouds their vision and whatever they do, is a small step to fulfilling that dream. Whether it be passing exams with good grades, buying a cosy little house in a peaceful area, earning a promotion or just resolving a few family issues, no dream is too small to pursue.

Dreams are so fragile, like the dew drops on a rose. There are some dreams which we chase on our own, from which we get fame, glory or money. There are those dreams that can only be achieved with the combined effort and power of a number of dreamers, for example those dreams that are remembered in the annals of history. Most dreams require a finger to hold onto, guidance of where to go, they need to be nurtured. It is these dreams that require a dreamer like you and others to lead, encourage and give them hope. Those dreamers who make it a life ambition to pursue their dreams, become a Nelson Mandela, a Mother Teresa, a Martin Luther King, a Princess Diana etc. People like the ones I have mentioned have a great power, and that is their belief.

The scene below is from one of my favourite films, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ in which the father tells his son the importance of believing in and pursuing one’s dreams despite what others may say.

Though Charley passed away at the beginning of this year, I still go our special place and share my secrets with the beautiful stars and like before, the stars quietly listen. The stars are like a repository for dreams. With each dream that is shared with them, they become brighter and even more beautiful. The heavens are full of the dreams shared by countless people over the millennia.  Your dream could be residing in the same star as the dream of Mahatma Ghandi after he was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The real question is, he had a dream and he pursued it but will you pursue yours or will you leave your dream to wither away like a dead flower?

If you ever feel your hopes and dreams slipping away and you need some reason or some hope then this following PowerPoint may give you inspiration. It was emailed to me by my dad.

Click here to download