Dear Hearts,
I write to you today to talk about the beauty that is you. Yes, you, so don’t look away now, because today we’re going to deep dive into all the things we’ve forgotten in our quest to wade through the mysterious and tumultuous waters of life.
Do you remember the dreams you had as a child? Do you remember the way you saw colours, your favourite T-shirt and your beloved childhood friend? Do you remember your first birthday, what you wore and how the buttery icing of your homemade cake tasted? Do you remember the first time you felt beautiful, and the boy or girl who made you feel like the sun permeated from your eyes? What do you remember of the version of yourself that you let go of without ever really knowing that you’d let go?
I think about these things all the time when I think about my happiness, and in turn, it makes me wonder if you think about the same things as I do. Are we all fighting to remember the former versions of ourselves in order to fix our present? Are some of you reading this at a point where you’ve found the old you and brought them into the present? I think today is about exploring how we can all get to the same page, so that we may collectively skip over the chasm we’ve evaded for so long. Over on the other side is the life you were so afraid to fully embrace.
Through my recent interactions and eternal ponderings, I have come to an understanding that so many of us have tucked our dreams away. Like a once-prized suit or dress that no longer fits, placed in the back of an aged cabinet, they sit there as time slowly layers them with a fine dust that gradually affixes them to their place, until they become a distant memory, revisited only in the fleeting hopes of a once-eternal optimist.
That is, until today.
If you’re reading this, then I know it isn’t by circumstance, for all things happen by divine law, and so the universe has led you here, into this universal conversation with the self, so that you, I, and the others who are here can uncover the dreams we long ago let ourselves forget. So, on the count of three, we’re flinging that cupboard open. Ready? One, two, three!
There’s a strange feeling that overcomes the mind when one is faced with forgotten dreams. For some, it’s as if they are looking through a two-way mirror at a version of their life that is unrecognisable. For others, it is a triumphant discovery of the self, a marker for all the new doors that have, and will, open as they embark on a newfound adventure. And for those who find themselves somewhere in between, it may be the beginning of a long journey into piecing together the version of themselves they were always meant to be. Whichever path we find ourselves on, there is a commonality in that the end result is the betterment of our lives.
You see, it is my belief that we could all live fully realised and fulfilling lives if our ability to dream was never suppressed. Because dreams, fuelled by action, inspired by passion and nurtured by belief, are a cyclical mechanism that can manifest the most wondrous of things into reality. They say there is no release from a prison of the mind; indeed, there is no greater limitation to ourselves than the belief that we cannot be everything we dream of becoming.
The ability to dream may have been cut short by any number of traumatic incidents, or perhaps by a parent, guardian or partner who couldn’t dream themselves. But what I am here to tell you today is that no one can take it away from you unless you let them, because you, dearest heart, are the captain of your ship, the master of your soul, as William Ernest Henley so famously wrote in his poem Invictus.
I know that so many of us have experienced hardship in our lives, but a life lived through the rigidity of conformity or the eternal well of unresolved trauma is harsher still, for there is no light in the mind of one who cannot envision a better tomorrow.
And so, today, I want you to reclaim your dreams with pride. I want you to know that you and I did what we had to do to survive, but we no longer have to live in survival mode. As of today, we are releasing the shackles, the hurt, the pain, the betrayal, the trauma, and embracing who we were always meant to become.
Because your dreams were always worthy of being realised. They weren’t just ephemeral thoughts that crossed your mind on a quiet summer’s day; they were ingrained in you so that you could go out there and possess them with zeal and gusto.
Because a person with a dream is unstoppable. And so, what I want you to hear today is that no matter how big or how small, let this be a reminder that not only should you begin to reclaim the path that leads you towards your dream, but you should do so with the understanding that all things are happening for you, and life rewards the brave.
So, go boldly into the night, and illuminate the dark with your light, because you were always the brightest star in the unending night sky.
Love,
love always,
Avastavé by Dmitri Ruwan
Listen to the audio narration of this article here.
