Are We Following Our Authentic Dreams and Passions?

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Gandhi once said: "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

This may seem like a pretty simple and common-sensical suggestion we should all follow as a mater of course, yet it rarely holds true for people, especially in this modern world of ours where we are often more concerned about the things we "have to" do than the things we "want to" do.

Do we have a small quiet voice inside, asking us whether we're actually doing what we're meant to be doing with our lives?

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Leaf against a clear blue sky...

The Lifelong Path of Seeking

In the world of self-development seminars, success workshops and even New Age mumbo-jumbo, we often learn — even though it's not exactly "news" to most people — that the majority of the world is caught up in some kind of "trance" that keeps them from being happy, or living up to their full potential, or fulfilling their dreams or true callings.

The world is not only a tough place for many people, but much of it is structured in such a way that we're encouraged to NOT THINK for ourselves.

Many are skeptical and suspicious of such a statement, and their egos go to battle to counter with statements like "nobody tells ME what to do!" We typically want to exempt ourselves from being part of the sleepwalkers, so we deny being one.

Whereas that may actually be true, at least on the surface, it's also one of those places where we end up "lying to ourselves with the truth."

Indeed, maybe nobody's "telling you what to do," but you're still caught in a cycle where the eternal struggle to just keep UP with it all (life) takes so much of your time, effort and emotional bandwidth that your dreams and ambitions never make it much beyond the stage in which they remain... dreams.

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Late blooming salvia

"Breaking State" is Hard!

For example, I have always dreamed of being a writer.

Of course, I write lots and lots and could easily call myself a writer, but I am not "A Writer" (as a profession) because of my own fears — or inner critics, or reality checks, or external critics — that I can't make a life out of being a writer.

This month, I had considered participating in NaNoWriMo, but I feel so overwhelmed by everything else I "have to" get done that it's just not happening.

But getting back to those fears, I can make a life of being a writer if I apply myself 60 hours a week for five years or so... but since I am not a "trust fund baby," that's not a likely reality, so I end up being a fairly dedicated blogger who occasionally gets an article or two published... while I mostly work at what society calls "a real job."

At least that's my "cover story," which I am yet to dismantle as an untruth...

There are many other possible outcomes, of course; other possibilities... which brings us to one of the realities of following our dreams: Choices have consequences.

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Fall calendula in the sun...

Choosing to Do What We can Do

One choice is simply agreeing that I love writing enough that I am willing to "live in a van, down by the river." For most of us, though, that's not a very functional way to approach our dreams and aspirations.

For me, the more sensible approach has been the realization that genuine change — including the change to follow our dreams and passions — is not something that happens overnight.

It takes time.

Which brings me to what might be the subject of my next post... what we tend to lose because of our impatience and obsessions with instant gratification. Good things are worth being patient for, and worth building... even if they might take years to reach.

And that's one of the things I'm working on, these days.

Thanks for reading!

(Another #creativecoin creative non-fiction post)

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!

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Created at 191106 19:42 PDT

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Gandhi once said: "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

A man after my own herst in term fo that perspective.

Looking deeper, and beyond the one liner - I opens up a plethora of existential questions regarding ones self...

I would posit (without writing 30,000 word to explain it fully), that fundamentally, you have to live in the now.

Anything beyond that, would cause , would have to cause - some discord within the self, and thus negating the very sentence.

You cannot think ' I want to eat', and also say, 'I want to eat', while fixing the car, without disharmony within yourself - at some level.

If you are fixing a car when your thoughts and word are not your actions....
(not the best analogy, but I hope you see my point?)

Now extend that over weeks an months and pensionplans and careers and...and...and...
It doesn't compute. Only living in the present satisfies the equation.

And that is the hardest part of all, for most people (myself included).

It requires a deconstruction of many of the values that we were once taught as virtues, as now being vices...

Bugger.

Have a great day, sir!

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Life gives us what we are ready for. Artists and dreamers and anyone who has failed enough tend not to be realistic with what they are ready for. As much as I'd love to be a full time artist, I have no mentally or emotionally prepared myself, I have no developed the habits neccessary to survive in this world with that. Maybe another world.

Unlike the masses though, I haven't given up. I know I can make the change anytime, I just need to prepare myself. I should write about this. I'm sure i have before but it's something I've been thinking about a lot

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