The grand illusion

Has anyone ever told you that "[insert something here] will come true" or "You will [insert another thing here] if that's what you really want"?

In times of personal upheaval, I feel I hear these words of encouragement more than ever. Whether it's because I search for meaning and ask for the help of others, or they sense my pain on their own - the feedback usually sounds the same. But when I stop, look at myself and hear the words that are being spoken to me, I have trouble fully trusting.

As much as we, as humans, put our faith into what's beyond ourselves - the soul, supreme being(s), love - sometimes seeing really is believing. And when the universe inexplicably becomes indifferent to you one day, making sense of what you cannot see becomes so much harder.

Since I was a young kid, I was all about dreaming. When I wasn't caught lost in my own thoughts during class time, I was working toward my aspirations or writing in journals about them.

But dreams versus reality is a premise that is foreign to no one. We all partake in the wishful thinking that pushes us to great heights and sometimes even greater depths.

Then we have our friends who pick us up by saying "things will only get better" or "I believe in you."

Is this the grand illusion of life? That we are capable of whatever we set our minds to because that idea has been reinforced within us over and over and over again?

These days, I wish I had the answer. Yet the very root of the problem is that I have no answers - and neither does anyone else. However, living in perpetual fear of disappointment is not an option. And neither is gallivanting through each day without a worry or care.

Success is created by the mixture of trust in oneself and fear of one's failure. And without both, we would seldom accomplish anything.

So while the illusion of our inevitable success is just a fantasy, the little pushes we get from the people who care about us are not rendered any less valuable. We need them, just as we need ourselves to occasionally bring back the perspective.