Wednesday, December 15, 2010

swimming towards the sunset.

Someone suggested that I start blogging again, and I think I should. Writing nourishes the soul. I haven't written in awhile, and now it feels kinda weird, sitting here and typing out my disorganized thoughts. Looks like the cogs need some oiling before the words and thoughts can start flowing smoothly again.

These few months, I've been struggling with the concept of dreams and ambition. To some people, those two words are mere synonyms, but to others they have very different meanings. Alot of senior, more experienced people have been dishing out advice to me on my future (believe me when I say I am grateful for all their wise insights) and more often than not, it sounds something like this "If you're ambitious....you should/could do this this this or that to become this..." Most of the time the endpoint involves me earning tons of money and having lots of power in my hands. It really led me to wonder, what if my dreams do not involve me running a huge multinational or earning truckloads of money, but it was just to lead a stable and comfortable enough life surrounded by the people that I love? Does that mean that I don't have an ambition?

The word 'ambition' is defined as "a cherished desire" by the dictionary--a simple and pretty neutral definition that does not point to any material accomplishment required in applying that word to someone. The sad truth is that we can't totally escape the social definitions of 'ambition', 'success', 'accomplishment' which often bring the idea of fame, power and fortune into play. To me, I suppose dreams are a purer form of ambition, undisturbed by the pressures of society, something that I can truly call my own. Ambition, on the other hand has a touch of reality and social influence to it.

For now I can only hope that as I step into the working world and I mature as a person, I don't lose sight of my dreams--don't get sucked into the rat race, don't forget to stop and smell the roses, and don't end up looking back full of regrets for things that I should have done when I could have. I will strive to reach the point where my ambitions and dreams can converge into one, and that's a promise to myself.

Posted by STINKY @ 9:12 PM