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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

To See a World...


To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

I've been working on being more grateful, on seeing the small things in life as the best and most meaningful. It is not a decision that was made out of the blue. After a year with many stressful happenings I realized I need to get myself back. I can try to take care of those in my world but if I'm not happy while doing so nothing will ever be achieved successfully.  I've found wonderful support for this work of self-improvement and that is where the poem comes from. 

While speaking to someone, much wiser and gentle-minded than I, William Blake's excerpt from "Auguries of Innocence"was quoted. I had not re-read or even thought about the large and quite analytical work since high school. A true pity because the lines are touching. However, coincidences don't happen without cause. 

Often times we, myself included, tend to accept patterns of life that are safe, true and tested. While there is no right or wrong way of living, as long as you don't live a life of murder and theft, patterns can be fine, but why not get more out of life? Why don't we make our dreams come true? 

It is understandable that not all of us will live leisurely or start Fortune 500 businesses or have 20 kids (to each their own dream) but we can still make our simple, small dreams come true. We can finally learn to drum- rather than imagine the Foo Fighters will come to town and miraculously teach you in two hours so that you can join their show at the Garden (hey, I said to each their own)- or start that garden, or save for that one dream vacation or start a local group for that favorite activity. Dreams can be good, but they can also hold us back. 

It took a lot to accept that, and it hurt to accept it too. 

Personally, I've commended myself on being a dreamer and getting ideas from my dreams, which helped me see the world in a more lighthearted way. When I really think about it, some of my dreams have kept me from achieving. I have thought, "this is not good enough," or "it's not the time- yet," because of dreams. Instead of drawing inspiration from these dreams, a road map to attempting new things, I've used them as a protection shield of sorts. 

Even small dreams, like not needing to exercise and eating a little extra because I am still young and can still get in shape in a month. Newsflash: while "fat" or "skinny" don't need to rule my life, health does. Age does matter and I cannot get into shape in one month anymore.

Dreams are usually small, like this one, and the really, really big ones are usually the ones that scare us most. Well, I don't just want to dream anymore. I want to make dreams my reality. As Blake said, I want to see a world in a grain of sand... then feel it, taste it, breathe it. 

The wise and gentle person I mentioned earlier said that it takes a lot of work to achieve a little, but in time a little work will yield a lot. Sounds odd but it makes sense. If we learn to master the art of dreaming, of drawing the line so that reality can come and not remain away shielded by our visions, that work will pay off and soon become a natural lifestyle. The same goes with taking control of our emotions, our actions, our thoughts. 

While we can't control all of the circumstances around us, we can still write a large part of our destiny. That's a gift only humans can enjoy.