Hide!
And I mean this in a good way (okay, sometimes it can haunt you in a bad way too).
A friend saw a letter she wrote 10 years ago to one of her best friends (her best friend showed it to her, in a fit of nostalgia). She said in the letter that although she was sidetracked with having a baby, she thought she would probably pursue law school (she was in her 3rd year at that time) because some dreams are meant to be pursued.
Such tenacity.
Such a positive world view.
Such a positive view of the self.
Take no prisoners.
(she became a lawyer 4 years after)
She wonders if she still has the same fight in her now. The same urgency. The same determination.
Because her dreams have come true but that came at a price. Some she has gladly paid – like time and money. Some she has not – like lost time with her kids.
She asked herself – that was 10 years ago and she was a willing protagonist/victim – is she still willing to pay the price?
At this time, she tells me, she is still growing dreams. She is still realizing – or trying to realize – them. One thought after another. Running after herself. Trying to outpace a phantom that tells her how things should be, and that she should keep up.
If she stands still, will she have the same quality of life that she thinks she has now?
Can she afford to stop?
Should she be sated by the realization that she could if she would, and that it matters, but not really? Because life wants her to play a different game, maybe?
The game of not getting ahead but of stopping and smelling the roses.
To cherish visits from friends.
To look back to catch that laughter in the eyes of her son and daughter. To hold the hand of her husband.
Of mindfulness.
And when things have smoldered and she is once again seized with the passion to get ahead – that’s when she should.
Because maybe she is just tired now, deflated, defeated somewhat and that she should try to recuperate. The tiger is still in her and that it is just biding its time to pounce.
(because it will come – opportunities always present themselves to those who know where to look)
Because once success bites, the eye is trained, and its hazy outlines become multicolored and three-dimensional.
Her letter of 10 years ago is a reminder of that ability – of who she was and the growth she is capable of.
And the point is – the past – the written past – does come back. And sometimes it is just the right dose of encouragement one needs to want to go on.
Article by Issa. Art by Danvic.
Copyright 2009-2012.
Website: www.YouWantToBeRich.com
Email: issa@youwanttoberich.com
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