Chasing Your Dreams

Most of us have dreams about what we want to do in life, or we had dreams of who and what we wanted to become and a small minority of us have fulfilled those dreams.  But what if we could all reach for the stars and find the life that we all thought we were meant to have?  Most people just think that those dreams we had in our younger years were just pipe dreams.  Dreams of a whimsical nature with the question of ‘how could I possibly reach it?’

Hundreds of years ago Thai Monks heard that the Burmese army were going to attack their monastery.  They had a solid gold Buddha in this monastery so to protect it they covered it in layers of clay.  All the monks were killed and while all other items of value were stolen the ‘clay’ Buddha was left behind.

In 1957 the entire monastery was being relocated and the ‘clay’ Buddha was being moved when it cracked.  One of the monks could see golden light shining through the clay.  With hammer and chisel he chipped away at a corner of the Buddha to reveal that the ‘clay’ Buddha was in fact solid gold.

I believe that in some ways we humans are exactly the same.  Over the years we build up layers of clay.  We do what we are supposed to do by getting an education, then into a job that we may not really like…but it pays the bills.  But are you passionate and fulfilled by what you do?

Let me ask you; How do you define yourself?  What is your truth, your purpose and your reason for waking up every day?  Have those dreams of yours been covered by the layers of life just like the ‘clay’ on the Buddha?  Time to go after the things that you want.  Yes, you will be stopped by obstacles and have hurdles to overcome.  But it’s important to really see the things that you want instead of seeing the things that prevent you from getting what you want.  Start chipping away at the clay that surrounds you.

I am reminded by a little story about a boy and a horse in the woods.  It was a very foggy morning and the boy was worried that he was lost. 

Boy - “I can’t see through the forest”

Horse - “Can you see the next step?”

Boy- “Yes”

Horse- “Just take it”

If you want to chase a dream you don’t have to see the end, just take the next step.