The election of Barack Obama as the president of the USA is a glaring example of how a man can realize his dreams. No matter what one's childhood may hold, where one was born or how one was raised, what matters is what we become. President Obama has certainly shown how true the old sayings are. The Bangla saying goes like this, "jonmo hok jotha totha, kormo houk bhalo" (No matter where one is born, deeds are what really matters)
Barack Obama's father left him in his early life. He was raised by his mother and then his maternal grandmother. He lost his father early and then his mother also died. His life was faced with constant uphill struggles. And yet he was compassionate and brave. He did not falter under the daunting challenges. The other day I was reading a blog by a woman who wrote about a memorable incident of her life. She was travelling to Norway to join her husband. At the airport she had to pay the additional sum of $200 to carry her heavy luggage or leave them. She did not have the money. The man standing behind her volunteered to pay the money and he did so very courteously. She thanked him and took his address so that she could pay back the money. The name of the man was Barack Obama. And so from this great man we learn lessons of empathy, we learn to dream and we dare to make the impossible come true.
A man without a dream is a man groping in the dark. A dream in life is like light that shows the way. This dream should be a dream that takes into its picture the lives of other people. As Wendy Gerret has said,
"As you think, so you are, as you dream, so you become. As you create your wishes so they create you."
Dreams begin early in life. When we are small the dreams are simple. They may be dreams of toys, of buying the favourite chocolate or going to a favourite place. These dreams are often told out aloud and the elders make them come true. However as we grow older our dreams too become more complex. There may be times when their enormity might make them seem almost impossible. There are people who cradle their dreams in their hearts and never try to make them come true. To these people life is often a difficult stage. There are others who speak of their dreams and work to live them. And there are people, positive and determined and do not leave any stones unturned to have their dreams come true. As Shakespeare has said,
"The world is a stage
And all the men and women merely players…"
For all the men and women to play their parts there is the requirement to hold up to their dreams. A play has a beginning and an end. A beautiful ending needs to be dreamed of. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round. And it takes all their dreams for the world to face the new challenges that come up. Life becomes more and more difficult with the economic slump. Rising costs of the necessities certainly leaves little space for people to smile. What keeps us still going strong? Our dreams carry us through the rough waters. Troubles brew around us like they did for Pandora when she opened the magic box. Pandora had hope coming to her when troubles were menacing life. Like Pandora's hopes we have our dreams coming to save us in our darkness. However, to make our dreams come true we need the strength of our hearts. Pursuing one's dreams takes patience and courage. As Walt Disney has said, "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
There are people who have dreams but lack the courage to hold them up. It takes determination to show one's courage to someone else. People sometimes fear of being ridiculed. And there is the fear of failure that stops people dreaming. There is no harm in pursuing a dream and seeing how far it goes. Man dreamed of reaching the moon before they landed on it. Christopher Columbus had a dream to hold on to before he landed in America. Father of the nation, Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had a dream of an independent Bangladesh before he started the fight for it. Mother Teresa had a dream of helping millions of destitute people before she started her immense work to help the masses. All our dreams need not necessarily be big. Sometimes they come in smaller frames. A mother has a dream of seeing her child become a good, kind hearted individual. She holds visions of seeing her child successful in life. And indeed a mother's dream is an invaluable dream for in that child sleeps the father of the nation.
Optimists have positive attitudes towards life and are the ones to have more dreams in life. They have the strength to work towards realization of their dreams. They are people who have goals set and try hard to reach that goal. There are times when people and their dreams seem to cross the steep hills. Optimists do not falter. They keep climbing the hills and aim for the mountain peaks. The pessimists on the other hand hold few or no dreams at all. To them the grass is greener on the other side of the field. They seldom have dreams and have little interest in pursuing any dreams.
Human beings, being the superior creation of the Almighty hold dreams as the gateway to life and its longings. In dreams lies the essence of life. In our dreams we vision the light that we follow in life. As Kahlil Gibran says, "Like seeds of dreaming beneath the snow, your heart dreams of spring. Trust in dreams for in them is hidden the gate to eternity."
Our dreams of life are the boundless in us, the throbbing of life. Our dreams carry us to the infinity of the sky. When a man stops dreaming he ceases to live his life, the flow of the life stops in him. Our dreams are the colours of spring, colours that bring glory to the seasons of our life. When dreams are put to reality even death cannot take them away. A man dies but his dreams live on. And so we hold on to our dreams and pass them on to our future generations. Indeed what would the future of the nation be if our children, the beacons of our nation, live without dreams? We all dream of better days, of days when life will be peaceful and our country will reap the fruits of its freedom. May each individual have his or her own dreams to glow like the countless stars that light up the night sky. |