I recently came across a meme which at the top posed a question in bold, “Guess which child grew into an adult that brought shame to their family?” and below were animated pictures of seemingly identical faces all with stethoscopes around their necks, they all were doctors, yet upon looking closely one would see a single different face among them, he wore an artists cap and held a paint brush instead of a stethoscope, he was the one being referred to in the caption, the one who dared to be different. Why is it that he was seen to be a supposed ‘shame’ instead of the one who had the courage to stand out, to pursue his own passion instead of fulfilling someone else’s dream? Its because our minds have been programmed this way, most of us receive this unconscious programming as children to pursue that which is expected of us, a standard for successful living predetermined by others rather than pursuing that which we would find personally fulfilling for our own lives.
Dreams come in all sizes and forms, some of us dream simplistically, some of us have lofty aspirations to change the world, yet most of us have not allowed ourselves to decide what we actually want other than the norms dictated to us by society. Your life can be different from what you were told it ‘’should be.’’ Your life can be what you want it to be by simply taking the first step in the direction of your dreams. I believe that every one of us has the ability to add value to the world, even in what may seem to be the smallest of ways, it is a collective consciousness of an intention to do good and spread joy that holds the potential for positive change.
“No amount of security is worth the suffering of a mediocre life, chained to a routine that has killed your dreams” – Maya Mendoza