A bamboo seed can remain dormant below ground for up to 8 years, seemingly comatose to the naked eye. However, once the seed breaks free from the confinement of it soil imprisonment it may grow up to twelve inches per day, making it the fastest growing tree in the world. I assimilate the development of the bamboo tree to the development of our being.
Dreams are something that require physical, mental and emotional effort to attain. One must have a steadfast mentality as well as an uncompromising durability in order to herald said dream into reality. When chasing a dream failure may be an all too common experience, seemingly befriending the dreamer, ready at any moment to stop by for a brief “hello, how do you do?” This is because to dream any dream, big or small you must venture out into uncharted waters. To dream a dream you must often times go against the grain. The world of dreams have no road signs, and the paintings on the wall are far from black and white. When you dream a dream you are creating something new, something special, something that has come from within the very core of your existence. There are no rule books or guidelines when you set out to accomplish a dream; there is just you and this feeling that something different and unique is out there awaiting your company.
It is quite easy to walk the well-traveled path. If you ever find yourself misplaced or perplexed you can simply look down and follow the footsteps of the ones who went before you. To venture off into the void, one must come to embrace some form of insanity. I mean who voluntarily deviates from the beaten path wandering off into the unknown in search of something unseen but merely felt?The dreamer does. So you set off with a canteen half full of water, a blanket and your intuition as a guide. What drives you the most is that you can see exactly where the common expedition leads, and that destination falls short of quenching the thirst your soul has for life. Perhaps you may fall short, but to the dreamer that is a far better fate than succeeding in compromise for a half-lived life.
Summing up my story; when you decide to follow your heart and intuition for something out of the norm you will be faced with many obstacles. When you decide to follow your dreams you will become very familiar with failure. When you embark on that journey to accomplish something special and unique to you, you may find yourself alone and at times afraid. Take no notice of these shortcomings because what lies within you is more powerful than any setback or failure. Having the simple urge to accomplish something is quite enough. If you are chasing a dream right now and it seems as if everything is going wrong, if it seems as if nothing is happening, if you feel like giving up just think of the bamboo seed. In the very next moment you could break free from darkness and experience growth at an exponential rate. The time of blossoming comes right after the time where it seems like nothing at all is happening. So to all my dreamers out there, be a bamboo seed, for you never know when you will break through and soar to new heights. There is a thin line between success and failure.