Dreams. These are things we look forward to in the future. Things we hope for. They serve as the picture of where we hope to be in the future, what we hope to achieve. Our destinations along the path of life. And if dreams are our destinations along this path, then faith is what drives our desire to walk this path, staying steadfast along the way till we reach our dreams.
Now faith is about belief, belief on two main fronts. First of course is our faith in God and His ability to provide sufficient grace and direction to see us through to our destinations. Second is our faith in ourselves. Faith, not just in our ability to reach our intended goals but in our responsibility to walk that path and achieve those dreams. See, it’s not just about how much we want it or if we’re able to achieve it, or if God is on our side. You need to want it enough to pursue it whole heartedly in order to realize your aspirations. But that’s going a little too deep too soon.
Those that belong to the other class (those with the drive and faith but no tangible dream or aspiration to direct it at) are an equally ubiquitous group. They’ll usually be the ones that display high levels of resourcefulness, willing to take on any task they’re given regardless of the rationality, reasonability or reward it earns them. They aren’t necessarily enthusiastic about or even contented with what they do but they keep doing it, at least until fate or chance smiles on them with an opportunity to change their situation (say a better paying job, a relocation, pay rise, …even a jackpot!) they don’t necessarily improve their situations, they just change them, and that’s usually okay for such people. If you’ve ever asked them why they choose to stay in such ruts, why they don’t make a deliberate attempt to get out and better their lots, you’ll probably get answers like: ‘this is better than nothing’, ‘I’m happy here like this’, ‘I’m taking my time, waiting for the right opportunity’, ‘I haven’t found a better place yet, when I do , I’ll make the change’, and so on. It all boils down to the same reason: they have the will to change, the drive to make a difference, but they really don’t have a clear cut direction or goal on which to direct that drive, there’s no definite, well thought out dream or plan on which to base that desire for change. And so, with no clear cut destination in mind, they settle (however restlessly) in whatever haven they find themselves locked in. You’ll most often find them ensconced in society’s expectations and definitions of success and fulfillment, choosing to plough their energy and resources into other people’s borrowed dreams. Those that find themselves in corporate settings usually draw their motivation from and fulfillment from the promise of the future attainment of the pinnacle of some corporate ladder.
-K-Black
Now faith is about belief, belief on two main fronts. First of course is our faith in God and His ability to provide sufficient grace and direction to see us through to our destinations. Second is our faith in ourselves. Faith, not just in our ability to reach our intended goals but in our responsibility to walk that path and achieve those dreams. See, it’s not just about how much we want it or if we’re able to achieve it, or if God is on our side. You need to want it enough to pursue it whole heartedly in order to realize your aspirations. But that’s going a little too deep too soon.
Let’s double back a bit to the topic of dreams and the faith needed to reach them. You’ll agree that they’re integral to a life of fulfillment, dreams being definite benchmarks on the road to destiny and faith giving substance to the hope that we will achieve those dreams and that destiny that fulfills us. They give meaning to our lives, giving us reasons to keep moving on, progressing, and making advances in our various spheres of existence. But what happens when one of these is missing? Say, a person has dreams of a better future but lacks the faith or will to power him or herself to their achievement? Or say, one has the faith and drive but no dream to focus these energies on or even give direction to? We find both of these categories of people everywhere, in every sphere of life. We meet them at work, sit beside them in church, we might even be living with some of them at home. Yes, there may even be one of them looking back at you from the other side of the mirror! So how do you characterize these people?
It’s quite simple.
Those that belong to the first class (those that have dreams but no faith or drive to achieve them) will usually have enough reasons not to step out and dare to follow their dreams. You’ll find them easily swayed by the opinions of others about taking chances and stepping out of the mould. They won’t often voice out their own aspirations, rather choosing to laud, analyze or criticize the exploits of others. When they do speak of their own personal aspirations you can be sure they’ll put in a good deal of defense of their non-pursuance of the said dreams alongside. All in all, this class eventually blend in with the circus of normal life (I call it a half-life), hiding behind the arguments of incongruous timing, irrationality of their ambitions of the need to take things a step at a time (a clever way of indefinitely putting off the first step).
Those that belong to the other class (those with the drive and faith but no tangible dream or aspiration to direct it at) are an equally ubiquitous group. They’ll usually be the ones that display high levels of resourcefulness, willing to take on any task they’re given regardless of the rationality, reasonability or reward it earns them. They aren’t necessarily enthusiastic about or even contented with what they do but they keep doing it, at least until fate or chance smiles on them with an opportunity to change their situation (say a better paying job, a relocation, pay rise, …even a jackpot!) they don’t necessarily improve their situations, they just change them, and that’s usually okay for such people. If you’ve ever asked them why they choose to stay in such ruts, why they don’t make a deliberate attempt to get out and better their lots, you’ll probably get answers like: ‘this is better than nothing’, ‘I’m happy here like this’, ‘I’m taking my time, waiting for the right opportunity’, ‘I haven’t found a better place yet, when I do , I’ll make the change’, and so on. It all boils down to the same reason: they have the will to change, the drive to make a difference, but they really don’t have a clear cut direction or goal on which to direct that drive, there’s no definite, well thought out dream or plan on which to base that desire for change. And so, with no clear cut destination in mind, they settle (however restlessly) in whatever haven they find themselves locked in. You’ll most often find them ensconced in society’s expectations and definitions of success and fulfillment, choosing to plough their energy and resources into other people’s borrowed dreams. Those that find themselves in corporate settings usually draw their motivation from and fulfillment from the promise of the future attainment of the pinnacle of some corporate ladder.
What a way to go eh?
So, ...which are you?
-K-Black
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