Following a dream in the 21st Century

As everyone around us is busy exhibiting his or her professional success, we become more and more susceptible to replicating the professional decisions of others. Infatuation with traveling, global competition, parental pressures, and availability of numerous novel choices to the untrained mind may be some of the other distractions in selecting work according to our own aptitude.

Even if one has a well-defined area of interest, some skills may have turned obsolete in this age due to unavoidable influences such as automation and outsourcing. Formal training and diligence in work do not always pay off. In an environment more suited to the adaptable, the loyal can and do face many disappointments. When contribution is measured only by numbers, one may easily get persuaded to earn more at the cost of peace. But what if you have a dream that does not align with a obtaining a big bank account? What if your aspirations for being an artist or a teacher pull you towards a slower pace of life and a lower success rate? Should you still follow your dreams?

Many of us never experience a non-materialistic dream unless we couple lower levels of greed with an ability to explore what we want in life (besides money). In the way we define it, a “dream in life” is a strong inner aspiration not bound by personal profit, and merely having one is in itself a spiritual achievement. Because it is more selfless, it has to be relatively righteous. And because it is righteous, it will see support from God, who loves supporting us in righteous behaviors. With such a backing, what can go wrong in following a dream?

We have been created with inner mechanisms (our personal gifts) through which we are compelled to act in accordance with our instincts. If we have identified a void in our life arising from a mismatch of our career with our evolving instincts, only exertion in the activity of our interest can fill this void. Just like it is difficult to own a dream, it is difficult to let go of it if we possess one. However, while our deeper interests, once they are unveiled, eventually succeed in attracting us, we can temporarily turn obstinate and try to oppose the bigger plan that has instructions for our own evolution.

Even if our deeper interests are discovered late in life, more often than not our responsibilities do not allow us to follow our dreams in early life. Our affinity to profit is very strong but we can begin by spending a few moments away from our lucrative job working towards our dream. If these moments give us more peace, we will voluntarily start offering more time to these new activities. And as we taste even higher levels of happiness, we may be encouraged to reassess our professional preferences and everyday schedule for something more eternal.

Because dreams in life are guided by our true nature, following them triggers a simultaneous search for peace, which is a permanent attribute of our inner nature. If we do not feel delighted in following our dreams, we probably have not connected to a dream.

“Contribution to the world” is a vague concept in the context of spirituality. While exertion in certain areas of expertise, say technology and economics, may be labeled “more significant” by the onlooker depending upon one’s bias, their results, including all products and most discoveries, are equally perishable in time. Alternatively, after nurturing some happiness within by following our dreams, we can opt to transfer the energy of optimism from our heart to others. This propagation to others can be a more real accomplishment.

This post is my adaptation from an excerpt written by Mukul S. Goel.

Photo credits: Apt3 Photography © 2010.

Lost Things

We all experience loss and disappointment in our lives. This week Chris and I dropped another one of these into our box of things-that-are-best-forgotten. No worries--it was a hope, and ultimately just a thing without a soul, and, truly, a soul is the most important thing not to lose along this road of life as we journey.

This lovely lady is Alison Sudol aka A Fine Frenzy, and I just discovered her this morning. She stars in a charming stop-motion short film, LOST THINGS, which I wanted to share with you here but my column width prevents you from enjoying it to its best advantage. Please take a look on the YouTube page of gallentandkeen - all of their work is creative and view-worthy!

Image via.

Design Inspiration: Espresso and White Kitchen

Oh, to have a kitchen with flow. Modern, clean, open, bright, organized, with flow. Makes me want to cook, to bake, to just hang out in it. Fave elements: pendant lights, bar stools, stainless steel, glass, dark wood floor, double ovens.

FOUND HERE.

My 11' x 9' pre-war era apartment kitchen will never rival this wonder space (designed by Candice Olson of HGTV fame) but I've started the process. See that cheap wallpaper border around the ceiling? It's going bye-bye. Those white metal cabinets that don't allow for painting to infuse color? Seeking out vinyl wall decals to perk them up. All those plain white walls? The longest, behind the stove, soon to be tomato red. Before photos shown below, after photos will come when I'm finished!

Inspiration Tuesday

"Hi, my name is Tina and I'm a Disney fan."

Yes, it is true, I like Disney. More specifically, I admire Walt Disney and his creations, Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

I never visited Disneyland as a child; my first experience was that of a 27-year-old adult. The world of Disney opened my heart and eyes much like a child's. A feeling of safety, of joy and of wonder is a good experience of any lifetime. The video included at the end of this post is one of my favorites on YouTube. I love it because it's a such a great collage of video clips from another ordinary persons adventures at Disneyland. Notice I said adventures? That's what it's about when we visit Disneyland...it's not just another amusement park, it's a place for wonder and adventures for everyone!

Chris and I have no children and because of this our family does not understand why we would choose Disneyland as a favorite vacation destination. Many adults think that Disneyland is just a place for kids to have fun. Because it is an amusement park, the singular attraction must be the thrill rides. Disneyland is about so much more than the rides and is definitely not just for kids. From the moment you walk onto Main Street, USA, you are believer. Deny it all you want, but take a ride on the Disneyland Railroad to Tomorrowland and you'll be whirling around on the Astro Orbiter faster than a 5-year-old can say "Mickey Mouse"!

Admittedly, arguments have been made against Disney's mass-marketing and commercialism but for those who look past the corporate mechanics, Disney is about more than media, consumer products or theme parks with rides. It is about entertainment, and teaching by entertaining is an effective way to bring knowledge.

Some would say that a vacation to Disney equals a very high price tag. As an almost all-inclusive destination, however, the Disney experience provides a lot of bang for the buck. Where else can you go that has so much to do--theme parks, shopping, dining, adult nightlife, interactive theatres, history, world cultures (EPCOT), technical innovations, world-class architecture, Broadway quality stage shows, elaborate parades, top-notch fireworks and laser displays, award-winning golf courses, water parks, and Cirque du Soleil, La Nouba--all in one place?

Once upon a time, drawing a tiny mouse, an idealist believed that he could change the world so he bought an orange grove and built his dreams. Disneyland and Walt Disney World embody altruism, idealism and capitalism at it's best--the very epitome of the definition of Americanism. It is a source of joy and imagination. At Disney, the bad is forgotten and good seems to conquer evil. Wide-eyed excitement is seen in the faces of children and adults from all walks of life. You can see that they seek the same thing as you--fantasy, adventure and a magical experience to take them away from their everyday lives, if only for a few hours or days.

Different cultures become one as we forget the troubles of the real world all around us. It is a place where people of all ages visit to have fun in a world that is sometimes much too serious. Serious is good, but so is fun and a balance of both is the best. Walt Disney built a place that helps us to laugh, to think, to dream, and to do--not just in Anaheim, but wherever we are--no matter what race, religion, gender or age you might be.

Disneyland's cultural impact on society has been woven into our daily lives, from learning to use your imagination to innovative technologies that could improve society. The greatest influence of the parks that Walt built have been in his positive view of the future. Disney managed to find ways to appeal to kids and to the kid in all of us. He used money to create magnificent parks and ground-breaking films that have generated millions of careers and made people's lives richer. Walt summed it up best in his dedication speech on opening day, July 15, 1955:

"To all who come to this happy place, welcome! Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts which have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

Color photos displayed in this post by Chris & Tina of Pfeiffer Photos copyright 2008. Black and white photo of Walt Disney is copyright protected and used by permission.