WHEN standing at the edges of their extraordinarily improbable dreams, even the most timid spirits are filled with courage. They may dare to look up at the sky and imagine their bodies molten against the sun in a moment of victorious achievement. The land beneath their feet fades away, and they imagine themselves taking flight. The darkness and weight of their lives become waves crawling feebly beneath them. Man may never be able to take flight. However, sometimes, the ability to imagine that he can is all that it takes for him to survive. In the distant future, even if the world were to become a place where people could not afford the price of a single breath, their hearts would still beat as long as they could dream. There are no shackles powerful enough to confine a dreamer, and human beings, fundamentally, are fuelled by dreams.
When we are born, we fall into an intricate web of forces. Each force shapes how we think and behave and, ultimately, designs the goals we aim to achieve. At some point in our lives, we are called to make a sacrifice for the sake of our goals. This is the act of intentionally taking a specific path when facing crossroads. Once we make this choice, our life metamorphoses into a new shape to accommodate the magnitude of the change we have accepted. Once we cross this point, the only thing we can do is either continue persevering toward the goal we initially intended to achieve or allow ourselves to stagnate in the spot where we find ourselves at the present moment.
Unfortunately, fate does not participate in the resolve we hold in our hearts when we make a major decision. Making a choice does not mean we will receive the outcome we desire. It takes every ounce of energy, work and strength to take us to the place where we desire to be. This means that when the entire world seems to be against us and our choice, we must not begin to question ourselves but, rather, solidify our will. We must remember that the ease with which we travel a path is not a determinant of whether it is the right one.
So, we are brought face-to-face with a rather daunting question. What if we make the right choice, select the right path and set the right goal, but are too weak to achieve it?
This question often limits our natural tendency to dream. The fear of failing is what prevents us from embarking on many journeys that can change our lives entirely. It is an important question, but it fails to allow us to consider another important one: What if we go our entire lives achieving the bare minimum and never meet our fullest potential?
We are all familiar with the adage, “Do not fly too close to the sun.” It comes from the Greek myth of Icarus, who was given a pair of wax wings by his father. Before Icarus took flight using his new pair of wings, his father, Daedalus, asked him to refrain from flying too high, as being close to the sun would melt the wings. Icarus failed to heed this warning and eventually met his demise when he flew higher and higher, causing the heat to melt his wings.
The story is used as a warning to encourage people to refrain from being overly ambitious, but it often fails to highlight the second warning that Daedalus gave his son. Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, as this would cause the waves from the ocean to wet his wings and also cause his demise. Though Icarus met his end by flying too high, it would have been no less dangerous for him to fly too low, fearing the sun.
We are often afraid of failure and its implications for our lives, so we choose to fly low. What we do not realise is that flying low and keeping our heads down may save us from failing at anything, but it also stops us from truly living. As we continue to dream, let us not limit ourselves with fear but, rather, remember that we are meant to soar with courage.
