Converting hopes into dreams

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!”
~ W. H. Murray, a Scottish writer, and mountaineer

We all dream: in the night when we sleep; during the day while awake; but the most consummated of all dreams are the ones that accompany hope, in the form of dreams, or dreams, in the form of hope. We convert our hopes into dreams and dreams into hope. Take for instance marriage.

Look at the failure rate, or the rate at which the dream of a satisfying married life gets shattered. It only tends towards the belief that marriage is likely to become an old-fashioned institution: a ritual based on vanity. However, despite it, how many of us would willingly enter wedlock again, in spite of failures. I am certain that most would.

The primordial urges that shape our dreams into hopes and hopes into dreams are such that, unless one is possessed of wisdom, one succumbs.

What we, in fact are achieving by such repeated attempts, is to commit to our dreams, and base our hopes on dreams. However, that commitment, more often than not leads us on to success, because, once you choose to commit, everything becomes possible. Yet, commitment requires strength of character and boldness. Lack of character and courage kill countless ideas, opportunities and every splendid plan.

As we ride the planet around the sun, life can sometimes be hard and complicated. We dream of living better lives or achieving great goals.

For many, our present lives result from being born into difficult circumstances or surviving tragedies. However, we hear about people who overcame impossible odds to turn their dreams into hopes; hopes dismiss such accomplishments as coincidence, being at the right place at the right time, or as fortune’s favourite of the moment; but fail to see the amount of commitment and effort involved. We realise not that it is their unshakeable commitment to achieve their dreams, which led them to succeed. No matter where, and what station in life we find ourselves it is undoubtedly the result of all the choices we have made along the way, mostly without commitment.

However, I believe that the ability to commit is always inside us waiting to be tapped.

The question is, how do we draw on it? How do we get the genie out of our own magic lamp, so that such miracles happen for us? I believe success, howsoever each of us defines it, is achieved by following a few simple steps: choose to commit to your goal or dream; pursue relentless action aligned to commitment; expect, and have faith that help is always along the way; show sincere gratitude for all the help you received, and the results achieved.

Also, remember that until one is committed, there is always hesitancy, the chance to draw back; and as a result, ineffectiveness can set in. Thus, unless and until commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes. The secret to success and achievement is commitment; which at heart is a declaration that you believe in yourself.

Whether they were heroes, poets, scholars, or leaders, the brightest minds in human history have thought and written about values and their meanings.

The foremost value a man should possess is belief in the self, and the trust he places upon that belief; without which all else is like buried treasure, not worth much. To accomplish that trust it must be backed by character and noble qualities, for these are the defining qualities of human life.

A mind cannot distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. What you imagine and believe to be true, the mind will see as true. Hence, plant the seeds of your success in your mind and create the commitment that will continually move you closer to your vision and your dreams. Beware: there is a difference between interest and commitment.

When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

Commitment means that it is possible for a man to yield the nerve centre of his consent to a purpose or cause, a movement or an ideal, which may be more important to him than whether he lives or dies.

Let me illustrate: Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence of what is now known as the United States of America? Five of the signatories were captured by the British, branded as traitors and tortured. Later they died as a result of the torture.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honour. They were committed men. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated.

They signed the Declaration of Independence knowing fully well that the penalty would be death, if they were captured. Yet, they committed. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire.

The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying.

Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his grist-mill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more and had the courage to live and die by their values their commitment. How many of us have such courage?

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

For views, reviews, encomiums, and brickbats: t_arjuna@yahoo.com