Dream one size bigger. -John Maxwell
Can you think back to your childhood right now and think of your fondest memories? What did you love to do? And can you remember what you wanted to do when you grow up? Your Big dream? Think about it for a few minutes before reading on.
When I was a kid, I was interested in so many things. I loved making paper boats. I grew up in India and for three to four months of the year, the monsoon season would rage all its might. Opportunities to float the boat were plenty. We lived on the second floor of an apartment building. I remember making different paper boats and aiming each one at various puddles that had collected downstairs. And then, I would watch them race each other. I loved it. And I continue to have a special connection with boats and with water.
As a little girl, I would also spend Sunday afternoons watching the trees. There was a row of luscious trees at a distance of 50 meters from our home, full with leaves swaying in the wind. The wind made a gentle rhythmic sound as it blew, nudging the leaves softly to shimmer in the sun. It was mesmerizing. In the evenings, my Dad and I would walk across the street and step into the sandy beach of the Arabian Sea. We would find a nice spot on the rocks and look to the horizon, preparing for a short yet grand event. We would come well in advance so that we could observe the brilliantly painted clouds. Each day, a brand new painting, more beautiful than yesterday. I would imagine the world beyond the horizon. Africa! I dreamed of traveling to Kenya and Tanzania on the other side of the Arabian Sea. I would imagine how amazing it would be to dive deep into the depths of the ocean and see what lay there on the ocean floor. I would gaze at the clouds and wonder all the places it had been to and all the things it had seen. Then, my Dad would alert me to bring my attention to the grand event. Yes, it was time. The sun was to submerge under water now; right where it seemed the waters and the sky came for a meeting. Wow! What a sight! The big orange ball of edible-looking-egg was to now gracefully dissolve itself. Each nano-second more and more and more of it was then, enveloped in the ocean's blanket of love.
It seems that as a kid we are so observant of all that is around us, making an ever-lasting imprint on us. Every miracle of nature seems miraculous and brand new. The moon, the clouds, the sound of the waves, the sensation of warm sand under your feet, the coconut trees in various curvaceous positions reaching to the sun.... All these glorious moments are as if alive in me even today. I close my eyes and I hear the waves of the Arabian Sea crashing on the rocks with a hum of the wind ever-present in my mind.
And also as kids, everything seemed possible, right? There did not exist a word called "no" or "impossible" in our awareness. Possibilities and imagination were like brothers. Whatever we imagined, we knew was possible. How wonderful it is to reconnect now to that world-view of infinite possibilities, of wonder and miracle and awe for all that exists. Taking example from the kids around us (even neighbors), our own kids or the kid inside of us, we can tap once again into this brimless, never ending bucket of dreams. Dipping ourselves just like the sun during sunset into the boundless ocean of imagination. Reaching into a bottomless bag and picking out the most enjoyable, the most amazing dream for ourselves and our world. How about that? What is the limitless dream that you have emerged with?
With Love,
Sophia Ojha
