Friday, August 3, 2007

Magic Carpets

There is a unspoken belief generally held that when we are following our heart's desire that we will be swept away by rapture and all things will become enjoyable.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We will still need to take out the garbage, change the diapers, sit in the local parking lot called rush hour. pay bills and so on.

Life continues while we are fulfilling our quest and we must meet it's demands no matter how petty or time consuming they may be. It would be nice to have a magic carpet to whisk us away from the mundane and bestow the gift of success without dealing with what has to be done.

When we are looking for that magic carpet and ignoring all other opportunities that would involve doing some things we don't like doing then we will fail. Which may be why so many people never embark on the journey that would create the dream they have.

After a while we can get in the habit of only looking for the impossible and so end up at the end of our life not having tried anything.

Your thoughts?

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10 conversations:

Derrick Kwa said...

Hm. I don't think that following your heart's desires will sweep you away and make all things enjoyable.

To me, the thing is, if you are following your heart's desire, you will be more willing to put up with the mundane parts of it.

Peter Haslam said...

Yes Derrick I agree but some people look only for a perfect solution. One without doing things you don't like

Unknown said...

You're so right - like even in movies when the say The End' it's actually the start of a difficult time, when you have to make things work. And not wait for everything to magically be okay without the required effort.

Peter Haslam said...

Yes Random Magus if we realize this then we can just do it and move on

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

i say go for the gusto. you only live once as far as i know.

smiles, bee

Peter Haslam said...

Yes Bee I agree as long as we have taken time to consider all aspects of our diretion

Sandee said...

There is always a price to pay for whatever you want to do in life. It can be as simple as obtaining your degree so you can qualify for the career of your choice. I just mean that you must put in to get something back. Looking for the easy way never works. The joy comes when you reach the goal. That sense of pride for having reached that goal while you maintained everything else around you. Great post Peter. :)

Peter Haslam said...

Good addition Sandee thanks

Anonymous said...

I think this only became true for me once I bought my first house - before that I think a certain degree of insulation from life's mundanities is possible. If you can squeeze in some student life and travel while you're still young and before you have any of the bigger responsibilities like kids and property, then there's much less to weigh you down.

Unknown said...

one other point about that one thing you love to do. does it survive being turned into a career? you might love to play or compose music, but as a hobby its a different thing, where your passion is insulated from the demands of the marketplace. maybe thats the better environment to nurture it in. the concern here is that not only is there no magic carpet, but that the mundane realities of life will kill that rapture. maybe some of those who never embark on that journey have realized that their course lies in a different direction, and give their passion a place that it is better suited for, even if not central in their lives.