I’m Too Old Not To Fulfill My Wishes
In the end, almost without us knowing how, the day will come. Something inside us awakens to tell us that we are no longer young enough not to fulfill our desires. That we no longer give any value to half-hearted hugs, unjustified attempts or moonless nights. In the end, we reach for that stage where the fears fall apart. We are reaching a stage where boundaries cease to be gaps, so that we can try to reach new opportunities.
Jorge Luis Borges wrote in his epilogue of the work “Complete Works” that we, as people, are our past, our blood, all the books we have read and all the people we have ever met. But to this list we can add something more. We are also all the things we could not do in time. I am those voids, those failed attempts where my wishes were not fulfilled. Desires that weigh us down much more than mistakes.
Convincing ourselves that trains will always pass for those who know how to wait is not much more than a sad mirage. It is a phrase that is all too often used in self-help books. There is fact that has had its time, its magical possibility, which disappeared like smoke through an open window. They will never repeat themselves again. But at every new dawn, new doors open and new, healthier winds come in. Better areas for us to move towards with renewed attitudes.
Before we say to ourselves that “I can no longer at my age” or “those things are not for someone like me” , we should be able to disconnect ourselves from that sad melancholy. To be able to regain our hunger, to increase the will we have to live with our hands full and hearts lit.
Our desires push us out of our comfort zones
We are no longer young enough not to fulfill our dreams or show the beautiful sea we carry to people who do not know how to swim. For people who do not know how to understand the language of our waves. The opportunity arrives where we hate the routine, because it does not give us security, but now seems like a sad winter where spring never arrives. And beautiful summer evenings seem like a fantasy.
The age of our ID cards does not matter, because it is the heart that holds the authentic youth we have. That youth who still longs for new experiences, new tastes. We long for something, but… how can I shape that vital need? How can I break the boundaries of my routine? It may sound contradictory, but sometimes we can turn our discomfort into our allies. We can use them to go beyond our areas of convenience and safety.
Many of us still believe that the term “comfort zone” is like a souvenir from motivational psychology in the 80’s. But the theory came up with the original goal of sorting out the temperature that people felt comfortable in, but it turned out to be something more interesting. People are programmed to seek out neutral areas where they can feel comfortable and safe.
But that security will not always make the individual more productive or make him feel happier. Vital necessities will often show up.
Experiencing that our comfort zones are now too small for us pushes us forward. It undoubtedly drives us to cross the boundaries of our fears to look for new opportunities. Sticking to our troubles and discomforts is often the only way we can strengthen the foundations for progress.
The different sides of life and new opportunities
Let us imagine the path that our lives have taken. You probably imagined a straight line. Your past is behind you, with everything you let go, with all your failed attempts and the paths you never explored. On the other hand, stretched out in front of you, your future opens up. Here, where all possible opportunities for progress are at your feet.
We should not imagine our lives this way. The ideal would be to visualize it with different turns and even circles. Peter Stange is a famous researcher and systems engineer. He who defines our world and existence as a beautiful system of circles that are connected to each other. Almost like a mandala. They are circles that begin and end and are intertwined among themselves. Undoubtedly, this way of thinking about life makes us reflect on different things.
The opportunities we missed yesterday, the mistakes or the failed attempts from the past form part of a cycle that invites us to start a new one. And we do so with greater solidarity, wisdom and hope.
At this stage where you are at the moment, anything is possible. It is an open circle where you once again become receptive to everything around you. There are multiple possibilities and you must be clear about one thing: you must not fail to fulfill your desires. Everything you have experienced in your past is not just behind you. It surrounds you to serve as a reference. To be able to help you remember which doors you have already opened. To remind you which paths you can walk along with confidence.
Living is a construction in the form of a beautiful mandala. One where everything always moves. You get to choose the colors. You who will no longer prevent yourself from fulfilling the desire to build the happiness you dream of.
