living our life through others

Each of us takes on two different lives. The first, our current life that we see as being realistic and a part of our core-being, and the second, a part of us that imagines and dreams for something that seems outside of the possibilities we have in front of us.

It is that 'latter' life that so often becomes the canvas each of us paints in the mind but never jumps into to experience. Modern societies are attracted to icons, products, and films that make it easier to live a vicarious vision of what it would be like to have a life filled with action and adventure around each corner.

Could it be that looking at the lives of others in these paintings of car chases and constant action makes it easier to live a boring, unoriginal and scripted life?

Often so much of our imagination and dreaming turns into indulgence, something we keep in a vault of fantasies rather than possibilities.

I am not proposing that more people ought to turn their fantasies into realities, but I do think there is a chance for each one of us to follow their dream in life, and it's so common to see people miss that chance in our world.

Each of us has a unique dream that can be discovered through self-awareness. I am not talking about dreaming of winning a world competition, becoming a superhero, or being awarded a million dollar prize. There is something unique that Makes You YOU. This unique sense of self ends up either being suppressed through living an unoriginal life or embraced and actualized. It is embracing that uniqueness which makes it possible to find this inner dream.

In Mario 64, a game for Nintendo, the main character walks through a castle filled with paintings hanging on the walls. Mario is able to jump into these paintings to enter new worlds. The human mind is structured in a similar 'castle' of possibilities.

Each one of us 'paints' his or her ideal life in an ongoing process. However it's something different altogether to have the courage to jump into that painting. Rather than just choosing stars to admire, posters to hang on our walls, and other's ideals to live up to… what's wrong with stepping out of the realm of possibilities and wandering into the world of dreams for a moment?

Coming up with reasons like "I can't do…" or "it's too radical to…" all seems to be in the realm of an acceptable and unoriginal life. But it's pushing the envelope of the possible that makes these unique dreams come into reach. Your ideal self does not need to be idealised and kept in the realm of the fantastic and unattainable. Even though it might be impossible to become a superhero, each genuine dream is not as far from reach as it seems.

Take a risk and jump into the painting. In the least, it's much more fun than being unoriginal.