You're on your 20's and you have your future all planned already. You have your degree that will equip you as you start building your career. You are now a fully-fledged young adult who's starting to establish your social circle and build networks. You are so confident and optimistic about everything. Your spirit is high and you believe you can achieve anything as long as you work hard and show passion into your game. You can finally start working on your dreams and have the life you've been dreaming.
Now with a brave heart and game face on, you step out into the world and take little steps towards achieving your goals one at a time. You meet new people who help you improve and excel in your craft. You learn valuable life lessons from them. More and more opportunities come knocking at your door. You are so overwhelmed with everything. So far, so good. Life is treating you well. The sun is shining. The weather seems perfect.
Then one day, just when you thought everything is going well, raindrops come pouring on your head. At first you thought it's only a drizzle. Nothing to worry, you've got your umbrella. But then, it doesn't stop there. It has gotten stronger instead. You think it's gonna be a storm now, something you haven't prepared yourself from.
We're probably too familiar with expectations versus reality.
Expectation: You climb a mountain and you expect to see a beautiful sunset or sunrise.
Reality: You find yourself being enveloped by thick fogs.
Expectation: You buy ticket to a concert where your crush is attending so you can be there and plan to pretend bumping into him randomly and strike up a conversation. You expect that could be the start of something new.
Reality: Your crush isn't able to go so you find yourself being crushed in a mosh pit.
Expectation: The journey towards reaching your dreams goes smoothly.
Reality: The roads on your way are unpaved and full of humps and hurdles.
Most of the time, the things we expect to happen do not really go as planned, however we meticulously planned them. There are factors that are just beyond our control and we can't really do anything about them.
At some point in our lives, we find ourselves being muddled by the complexities in life especially ones that we don't expect to encounter. Uncertainties abound us. We get confuse and we start to doubt ourselves and the choices we've made. We start asking ourselves, "where did i go wrong?", "could there be something i could have done better?", "what could have happened had i do this instead of that?", et setera and et setera.
Life isn't perfect. We are not perfect. We go through life's ups and downs. And that's what makes it beautiful. We can never appreciate the fullness of it unless we go through its every bits and pieces- that could mean both the good and the bad faces of life.
Hence, when we're feeling lost and troubled, remember that it's okay not to be okay. It's only a phase. We just have to pause and give ourselves a break. Don't get too caught up with our emotions. If taking a break means going to an island and isolating ourselves from everything outside to reconnect with ourselves inside, then by all means, let's allow ourselves to experience that. Know that there's a rainbow always after the rain. Later on, when you're feeling fine already, you can logically evaluate the situation at hand and respond smartly.
Our journey towards reaching our dreams is also a journey of getting to know ourselves on a deeper sense. It's a journey of understanding ourselves better and discovering who we really are. It's a journey of embracing our whole being.
Don't be too harsh on yourself. You deserve the same amount of love you give to others so always give yourself the same.
If you were following my previous post about Canigao Island, these were the reflections I had come to realize on that trip. Nature has its own way of healing and the beautiful sceneries I've seen there definitely helped me reconnect with myself and be found again.
All photos are mine taken using Asus Zenfone 3 Max