Realizing a dream

Dream big: Its human to have the desire to expand, to grow and to achieve something unimaginable. It means pushing the boundaries of what’s considered achievable like breaking the ten second barrier or the vision of Wright brothers to fly. What separates the successful from the rest is the will to persevere.

The Sanskrit word “siddhi” sums up the entire journey of realization of dream . It means extraordinary powers of the atma (Self), developed through consistent meditation and deliberate, grueling, often uncomfortable tapas.

Realizing a dream is grueling. And where is the fun in it if its too easy. As often said, its the journey and not the destination which is important. As the alchemist tells the boy :
“Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.”

“Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”

Once you have a dream, immerse yourself into it. Be resolute and dogged towards it. Either you succeed or fail; that risk will always be there. Even if you fail you would have learned so much.

“There is always risk involved when we venture into something new. After all, the process of birth itself is a risky affair.”

In Greek mythology Sisyphus, king of Ephyra, was punished by Zeus by being forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it come back to hit him, repeating this action for eternity.

I particularly like Narciso Reyes Jr. interpretation of freeing the Sisyphus. He says that as Sisyphus continues to repeatedly perform the same grueling task he might be thinking that it will not be a permanent bondage, after all. There will come a time when the big rock will be so reduced in size as to allow Sisyphus to remove the chains around it. That day of liberation is the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.