Some Faraway Dreams

If there’s any piece of wisdom that has stuck with me in all these years of living, it’s this: one needs to differentiate between distant goals and immediate goals. Distant goals are ones that are too far away and ones that are vague enough to scare you a little. Will I have a good life? Will I make something of myself? Will I be okay? I want a fulfilling life with friends and meaningful work and romance and leisure ahead, so on and so forth. These goals are desires we have from our self of what we want our future to hold for us. These are, as the title of the blog suggests, some faraway dreams.

Immediate goals are more concrete. There are here. They have a timeline as well as a deadline. Wanting to clear an exam, wanting to prepare and then ace that interview next month, trying to work on your daily routine, trying to incorporate meditation in your life... they are related to what's on your hands, what you do with the present moment and the next few days and months.

“How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your lives."

This quote by Annie Dillard is something I think about often. She underlines the crucial nature of routine and discipline in our lives. While I am not a strict disciplinarian and am guilty of spending a considerable portion of the day ruminating and vexing and delaying work, I do sincerely want to begin change.

All that is required is regular and relentless routine, coupled with a sense of surrender and calm. I struggle with uncertainty and that's also one area I need to work on.

I've realised that all this will be taken care of if I put in the work. Feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt will dissipate once I get lost (not in a bad way) in the dealings of daily demands. And the exam doesn't really leave you with too much time on your hands anyway.

Some parts of the prep will require me to get out of confines of my comfort. Things like maths and maps scare me. It’ll be dealt with. Dekh lenge.

With quiet belief in my abilities, I must go on.