Everybody has a story, what's yours?

I would like to begin by sharing one of my incidents. A story I often narrate.

Once upon a time, on one fine bustling afternoon with the sun beaming down and the breeze rustling the trees I was out on the ground playing with my friends. Just a group of friends running around and amusing one another. Amidst all that chortling, suddenly I felt the presence of something. I turned back and to my horror, I saw a gigantic monster darting towards me. I didn’t have the time to notice the intricate details of how big his jaws were or if he actually breathed fire. All that crossed my mind at the very moment was to run. So I ran…

I ran like a blue-arsed fly to keep the beast from mauling me. I charged straight beyond the farthest end of the ground and in curiosity, I turned my head back to see how close I was to death. What I saw next was no ordinary play. I discovered that the monster was not there anymore. It had vanished into thin air.. Then I realized that I had escaped. Maybe, I had outrun the monster. I successfully escaped what could be called as the most threatening danger of my life.

No, I wasn’t shooting for the Tom Cruise starrer War of the Worlds sequel, and nor was there a gigantic Godzilla unleashed in the city.   It was a dream, my dream.

The next night I dreamt of soaring high up among the drifted white clouds in the sky.

On a successive night, I dreamt of being in front of a camera; delivering an act so powerful accompanied by the spectators’ lauding whose sound still reverberates in my ears.So after incessant thinking over what these dreams were leading to, I encountered a conclusion. I realized that probably my dreams demanded me to be the best in what I could do. I had always been told that dreams always relate to an event in your life. I asked myself, ‘what event’? I have not even been chased down by a dog before on the streets, let alone me being chased by a ferocious monster in the middle of the day.

I beg to differ; I’d say that I can control my dreams. I can empower them, dominate them, embrace them, and I can also bridle them. I believe I write my own story. My dreams relentlessly drive me towards penning down my own story. Probably because I don’t just dream with my mind but also with my eyes being wide open. Before my eyes could adjust to the dream there is a paroxysm of a bleating sound of a car alarm constantly yanking my ears.

So I dream every day, off and on some nights without having to think of the outcome. I frame my own story each day. Be it success or failure (which in my story would be getting crushed by the monster). Even if I lose, I would not be ashamed of losing, because I’d be honest enough to know that I had given my best.

But there is a caveat…. Everybody has an Achilles heel, a weakness, a certain limitation.

Mine is FEAR.

My stories have characters that are afraid. This fear, which would deprive me of the opportunity to live up to my full potential.

And without further ado, I leave you with quite a profound quote regarding the topic of dreams by the talented Mr. Will Smith from one of my favourite Hollywood movies ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. He says;

“Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you got to protect it. You want something, go get it. Period”

If you’ve ever had any kind of dream that’s left you amazed, perplexed, terrified, or feeling copious amounts of any other adjective, I heartily encourage you to share your story. Simply, because ;

Everybody has a story.

What’s yours? ??