A colleague shared his dream with me the other day.
He would do this dream in a few years when he had time and was free from his
current stresses. He couldn’t tell people about his dream for fear they would
belittle him.
I don’t know how many years of my life have passed
by with me keeping everything and anything hush-hush. I once told a man on a
date that I liked Abba music. He turned his nose up. Mental note to self: Don’t mention that to people. What a fool I
am to throw that into the conversation!
In fear of what others would think,
there was so much I wouldn’t do, so much I wouldn’t say. It meant that by
protecting myself I was keeping myself neutralised, moderated. Not genuine. In fact, not me.
In revealing his dream to me, this is what I
discovered about my colleague:
·
He was a man with passion. He had
dreams.
·
He had a richness to him that I had
never really seen. At work, and even when we went out for coffee, it was work
obligations, work obligations, housework obligations.
·
He inspired me. I had been dreaming
about blogging the very day he shared his dream with me. The excitement of that
conversation spurred me on to pursue my own dream.
Think about this. Imagine what might happen if you
dared to mention your dream, in simple terms, to someone else.
·
It might cheer you up talking about
something you like.
·
You could have fun pursuing your dream.
You might enjoy planning and executing your dream.
·
You might be affirmed by some of the
people you share with. Someone might ask questions when they catch up with you.
How’s
the painting going?
·
You could meet another person who shares
a similar interest.
·
The joy you get from following this
dream could alleviate some of the other stresses in your life.
·
Someone might scoff at your idea.
Someone might laugh at you.
In fairness to him and others there are, of course,
many reasons why we don’t reveal our true selves to others. However, by not revealing
a little of our true selves what are we really saying no to? Are we simply
saying no to fear of someone’s scorn or are we saying no to a chance to grow
and enjoy this life we’ve been made for?
