HAVE you been in a crossroad or at least have felt like being in this kind of crucial, confusing, life-and-death and oh well, yes, depressing state? It’s hard being in this phase. It feels like the whole world is on your shoulders. The problem is not just choosing which road to take and where to go but what is it that you really like in life—in deeper sense, what your purpose is.
PURPOSE. That word seems to be very difficult to understand or shall I say, to discriminate from other things that your heart desires—my heart desires. I have always been a dreamer. Since I was young (well, I’m still young. I mean back in the days when I can still go around the house just wearing my undies ;p), I have always found myself daydreaming. I imagined myself as an astronaut, a gymnast, a pilot, an architect, an engineer, a marine biologist, a novelist, lawyer, a writer-researcher, a traveler, a musician or composer and a dentist. And why not, of having my own family, a good husband and kids who are like my best friends, too (before, I used to dream of having just a son or daughter and no husband… I was man-hater then but that’s a different story). So anyway...BIG dreams they were! That’s one thing why kids are better of than grown ups. They’ve got lots of dreams and yes, confidence to dream BIG. They have FAITH.
FAITH. As I journeyed on and turned away from the colorful world of childhood, this just grew faint as well. Perhaps it’s because of other’s comments and insults. Though most of them were not meant to hurt me, they left a seemingly perpetual anguish inside. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why I’m always scared to try, to take the challenge, to go for the win, though deep inside, an innate voice of a fighter, a dreamer and an idealist entreats to be heard.
TO BE HEARD. Which voice? That’s the hardest part of it. Which voice should I follow? I’ve got lots of interests. I feel like I’m a jack of all trades, a master of none. I can do a lot of things—but I just know how to do them, never know how to do them expertly—not even one of them. Each interest just brings me to a wild fantasy and drives me to a near-perfect aspiration. There were times I was successful in realizing them; but many times, I failed—especially in things about my would-be career or profession, my future.
FUTURE. That is so hard to picture out. Only He knows exactly what it is. But I believe He gave us Free Will to do what we want, to shape our life the way we want to. His Will, though, shall be the Ultimate verdict. “It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in his power.” (Job 12:10) But He is Good. He let us do what we want so we must act. And what we do now will determine what we will become in the future. I know it’s not about being “someone” or being able to do “something” so praise-worthy that we ought to aim for, but rather, it’s about LIVING LIFE by doing that something He had made us capable of. And in that way, we can serve Him and ultimately when time comes, we can say to Him, “I HAVE LIVED MY LIFE.”
LIFE. It’s so big for a dreamer and so small for a quitter. Where am I right now? I’m in between and have since then been constantly hurled to and fro both ends. It’s miserable being at the middle, just wondering and thinking again and again what to do next so I can move forward. Although I feel so down many times, definitely I don’t want to quit. But when do I move on and which road shall I take? Will I forever be in this state or will I be able to get over this and finally get there. How I wish I know the answer. I hope.
HOPE. If I need to wander off to find the right way, then I would. If I need to take different roads to discover where I’m supposed to go, then I would. If takes TIME, then I’ll pay the price. But I certainly cannot afford to lose that thing keeps me going right now, hope.