Don’t Live In The Present, Skip In Imagination Instead
Hi
I hope you are doing well.
And now that we are done with formal greetings, let me get back to what I am good at — pouring my heart out in words.
For the past few weeks, I have been thinking about a concept that has been stuffed in our minds — ‘live in the present moment.’
I know, what a great piece of advice, right? I have written a lot about how to make the present moment so beautiful that you cannot help but feel excited for every single moment of your daily life.
However, that does not mean I am a fan of living in the present moment all the time and I am definitely not a monk. I am a reader. I like to be lost. A lot.
When I was a kid, I wasn’t good at anything. Or perhaps, anything that adults around told me was necessary to become successful. I used to be a below-average student and well, growing up in a brown family means growing up with family drama too.
You see, when I look back in time at my 10-year-old self, all I can see is a girl who was trying hard to pass the exams and meet the silent expectations that I knew people had of me. Even though the efforts were fruitless and I often found myself crying over my final result, there was something in me that always dreamt of a better future. Up until a few weeks ago, I used to think that my life changed in the last three years. I went from being a nobody to a bestselling author. Life suddenly just changed for me. But I was wrong.
When I was a little girl my grades were lower than anyone I knew and I was made to feel dumber than anyone I knew, I remember vividly, I used to dream a lot. I used to imagine myself studying in a foreign university. Some places like Spain or the UK. When I used to see my father coming back home all tired and dripping in sweat, at night, I used to imagine that I had become successful as an adult and I had sent my parents for a long foreign trip with a guide who could be their translator too. I used to imagine myself traveling the globe and laughing with friends.
Long story short, I was a NOTHING. But I used to imagine EVERYTHING for myself. I was made to feel small, but I always dreamt of BIG-BEAUTIFUL things for myself. I am not saying I had a strong self-belief. No, I sucked at that! But…I was good at dreaming. I was good at imagining a world far better than where I was.
And look at me today, I am doing wonderful in life. Am I not?
However, in the past few months, I didn’t let myself dream. I never sat down to imagine a place far better than here. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate where I am nor am I being greedy. I think ‘What’s the point of being human if you don’t dream?’
I restricted myself from demanding more because I thought I was being ungrateful. I didn’t let myself imagine a beautiful future because I thought I was losing myself in a place which doesn’t exist. I should just live in the moment!
BUT….
Something has been calling me from a place far away. I watched a movie yesterday where the girl goes to Oxford to study and all of a sudden, I was in a movie of my own mind. It just struck me ‘When did I stop thinking of studying in a foreign university? Why did I let go of that dream?’
I am not saying you should keep every dream alive. No, dreams change.
The question is ‘Why didn’t I let myself dream more dreams?’
Today when I was thinking about all the places I dreamt of as a kid and all the things I imagined I would do, it twisted my stomach and ached my heart — both in excitement and pain. I felt excited to imagine again. To believe, ‘Oh, there is more in life.’ And I felt pain because after becoming a bestselling author, I just sat down with that title thinking ‘This is it.’
You see, a lot of people will tell you to not live in the future because that’s a dangerous place. But I think, we should all take a few moments in our lives to visit our future or rather create a certain section of our future by DREAMING.
Do you know why?
I don’t think we should dream BIG because that helps in setting goals and estimating the future or becoming successful. No. That’s just bullshit and big motivational talks that sound better in a typical self-help book.
I have come to realize that we should dream because our dreams show us ‘where we truly belong.’ Yes. When you dream without the influence of the world, what you should and shouldn’t do, what you can and cannot do, your own mind takes you to a place where you truly belong. A place where you fit in perfectly. A place you can call your ‘home.’
Forgive me if I sound too poetic. But look at my example. I wasn’t good at anything. My mind was too small. Yet, as a kid, I dreamt of a few things that directly hit my guts. It’s like ‘I am missing home.’
I don’t have to go to any university this year or travel the world as soon as possible. I can take time and plan. I can say ‘Maybe, I don’t want to go after this dream now.’ But it’s important to question ‘Where do I want to go from here? What are my dreams that might be sleeping under the blanket of fears, self-doubts, and probably external noise?’
We can be happy at the moment and enjoy it as much as possible. But it’s also important to DREAM so you can know ‘Where you belong.’
God, or whatever you want to name this beautiful power that surrounds us all, wouldn’t have given us a brain and the ability to imagine if we were to live only in the present moment. I firmly believe that God gave us a brain and imagination power so we could clear the shadows and look at all the places where we want to go. Places where we belong.
You dream of it first. Then you make it happen in reality. And that’s how you get to a place you always belonged.
I belong here at my home with my loved ones at the moment. But not forever. There are more places where I belong and I must start my journey towards it. If I keep living in the present, how would I know my next stop? I don’t believe in setting goals any longer. But I do believe in slipping off in my mind because that allows me to go to a place where I belong. My younger version dreamt of studying in a foreign country, and just watching some girl in the movie doing so, excited my core. Did you see it? I always knew where I belonged. I just didn’t let myself believe that could happen.
In fact, this newsletter was a dream once too. I dreamt of starting my own blog and newsletter back in 2020 I guess. But after some bad job experiences, I thought I was dreaming too big so I let go of it. A few days ago, I felt the urge to start my newsletter again so I am giving this dream a chance again. And it feels like I found a missing piece of my soul — like I belong a little more in my life.
If you didn’t get it, I want to SKIP the present moment and find some time to be lost in the future — somewhere better and beautiful. Because dreams tell you where you belong. Dreams show you ‘a reality that can be yours.’ Dreams give you excitement. Dreams make you realize that there are more surprises in life. Dreams are a call from God (or the mysterious power of our world).
And when you dream, dream with no limits or greed. Dream like a child. With purity and innocence. Don’t restrict yourself from dreaming because you have self-doubts and past failures to haunt you. Don’t be clever or over-critical. Just allow yourself to drift away. To be lost in a new world where you might belong.
I will go now. I am hungry and my mom is yelling at me from behind ‘Eat your food before it gets cold.’ Her house, her rules.
Have a good week. And DREAM.
This is the newsletter I sent yesterday. If you want to be updated on my regular emails, I send once a week, join me here: The Secret Garden.
(I wouldn’t be posting my emails here. This is just an exception so join in if you would like to be a part of a beautiful community.)
