Ever since we turn a teenager, we are asked this question way too often- what do you think will happen five years down the line? The only difference is- as a kid, we are dreamers, so our answers include better life, a better world, happiness, and peace but, the moment we become an adult, the answer keeps getting realistic. From world peace, we come down to materialistic pieces. From happiness, it comes down to possession (of things and people). From wishing for the world, we limit ourselves. It’s weird, isn’t it? The answer keeps evolving and yet narrows down, even though the question remains the same.
Well, the simple reason is- the more we learn about the world, the farther we become from the fantasy world- where everything is possible. Our faith in the world and our imagination keeps failing and narrowing down daily. The more knowledge we gain, the lesser we dream. With each year, we keep conditioning our brains to look for conditions to smile and be happy. We start dreaming less and believing even lesser. And more often than not, we even dodge the question as the future begins scaring us. Before the world can, most of us crush our dreams by not believing in them. And guess what that result into?
The result is that most of us find it hard to answer- when was the last time you laughed out loud? When was the last time you smiled at a stranger? When was the last time you slept like a baby? When was the last time you sat in a corner and lost yourself in daydreaming? When was the last time you danced in the rain? In the race to live a life that can be called ‘successful’, we become less of us. And the more we lose ourselves; the more superficial our answer becomes about our future.
Take a moment, pause. Breathe in. Breathe out. And ask yourself what you want your life to look like in five years? Don’t try to put any limitations, don’t hold yourself back, and don’t give yourself a reality check. Just say out loud the things that come to your mind as they come to your mind. For once, believe everything is possible- flying cars, cotton candy for clouds, world peace, a tree that grows money, everything! And if a but or no pops in your head, crush it. You see the life that we currently live- this article that you are reading through a screen was also someone’s five-year dream, and now it’s so real that we can’t imagine our lives otherwise.
Want to know what I want for me five years down the line? Well, I hope that five years down the line, I still have the ability to smile without reason, the courage to laugh without worrying about the laugh lines, cry without being ashamed, be content enough to be happy with the little things, and optimistic enough to find the silver linings, honest enough to speak my mind and confident enough to make mistakes. But most of all, I hope that five years down the line, I’m still a kid at heart and not afraid to dream the ‘impossible’.
Sneha