Try to remember back when you were twelve years old. Maybe that New Years Eve, eagerly looking into the future, busy creating that dream of an adult life.
What did you envision? What goals did you forge? What did you dream of becoming, of doing, of accomplishing?
Take hold of that old childish dream for a few seconds. Touch it, re-dream it. Feel it.
Now snap into the present and take a look at your life as it is. Did your dreams come true?
Why?
Or why not?
What can you, in hindsight learn when you once again stand at another New Years Eve forging another goal to reach?
Or what can that twelve year old child in your past teach you tonight?
Geir Isene - uncut 
I do not think I dreamed of anything when I was twelve. As far as I can remember. It was just another year at school.
All best wishes,
Ant
Did your dreams come true ? yes .
Why ? because i am doing what i postulated to do .
What can that twelve year old child in your past teach you tonight ?
no i guess i will teach him about the correct relative importance on integrity and i will be very proud of me.
At 12 I was immersed in art, poetry, music, nature and learning. I was creating and co-creating. That’s what I did and I was so absorbed that I had no attention at all on being an adult. The first time I put any attention on it was 2 years later in high school when I was forced to choose a major and minor complex of studies. Even then I chose a major and minor that gave me the greatest range of options for college.
In my adult years, although I refused to be tied to any one career, I did become very goal oriented, with my attention fixated on future goals because I thought it was important to lay out future goals. I learned that I really dislike future goals because they tend to fixate on future. And I was always leery of the idea of a future because I had a hard time affixing myself to a linear time track. I did better with total immersion in whatever I happened to be doing, surfacing from the immersion with new directions. I found it irritatingly restrictive to be ensconced in a particular identity or association, and one-pointed commitment to a particular “this is what I be, do, have” to be strangling. What I did do was carry out duties to do with my particular set of relationships, such as raising children — but that was also on an immersion basis. So all those who have known me for any length of time see me as the “rock” of dependability, responsibility, etc. But even in the midst of those immersions, I always continued being immersed in art, poetry, music, nature and learning.
And now, 40 years later, I am immersed in art, poetry, music, nature and learning. I am creating and co-creating. The difference from when I was 12 during my adult years I extended my learning direction into the realm of the spiritual and transcendental. When I was thirty, I experienced a massive awakening. This last year I experienced another awakening almost as massive.
For me, its all about immersion and awakening, living and learning, growing and extending.
As 2011 comes to a close, I’d like to thank each and everyone of you who participates in this blog for sharing your world of ideas with me and others, and for all the moments of incredible learning and insight. And I extend that thank you to the great family of mankind, to the spirit of life itself, and to all who have contributed to the incredible wealth of insight I am now experiencing.
To Geir: thank you, thank you, thank you for all your work and your inspiration.
Happy New Year to all. And in all sincerity, may you have all your best in the New Year!
Dear Maria, I agree with you and am still working on clearing out compulsive goal-making. In COHA Hubbard presented a process that he felt would help the PC towards living an unplanned life. I have much work to do in this lifetime of opportunity.
Wow ! This is one of the great questions to ask yourself, “What did you dream of when you were twelve?”
It really brought nostalgic moments when thoughts of a twelve year me crossed my mind, its really simple: I wanted to build things, mechanical stuff mostly, to create, to invent, to see parts go together to make one fine peace of “art” ! may be it’s not but I see it art at least 🙂
On the other hand, life teaches you to be practical, for an IT engineer I guess I was not driven away too much from the childish dreams, I can still feel the joy of accomplishment, the joy of creativity.. Hmm, maybe nothing is really moving! but I like to think that the program is more of an engine hidden under the hood..
Any way, I personally believe that the child is still there, trying to find time for hobbies and “Do IT Yourself” stuff.
Did my dreams come true? lol I think that’s too much to ask,here the bombshell: I dreamed about making the world with no more famine and no more wars, about peace all over… Oh dear child you must be joking!
Lets face it the child is neither naive nor asking too much, dreams comfort us and make space for hope especially if you believe in divine justice. Martin Luther King had a dream, still a long way to go but he would be happy to see the american president today.
When I was 12 I don’t think I thought much into the future beyond wanting to be married and have a family. But by my late teens I knew I wanted to help people somehow, and I had learned the word self-realization by then and knew that was what I wanted too.
Well, if I were to drop dead tomorrow I wouldn’t feel too bad about having accomplished some help and having achieved what I have come to understand as the meaning of self-realization for me – the feeling and the knowing that I am me and free to be me and able to be me. And I understand that to mean within whatever constraints of the physical universe and ever-changing “mind-set” I may have or game of help I’ll be playing.
And in the joyous space that answering the question just brought me to (thank you, Geir) I must say that I love you all and wish you all a great New Year. 🙂
This is a beautiful rendition of the traditional Scottish Robert Burns song, Auld Lang Syne.
Here’s the “translation” into modern English:
.
Days Long Ago (Auld Lang Syne)
Should old acquaintances be forgotten
And never be remembered?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten
and days long ago.
Chorus:
For days long ago, my dear,
For days long ago
We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet
For days long ago!
We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine
But we’ve wandered many a weary mile
Since the days long ago.
We two have paddled in the stream
From morning sun till dinner-time
But the broad seas have roared between us
Since the days long ago.
(Chorus)
And surely you’ll have your pint tankard
And surely I’ll have mine!
And we’ll drink a cup of kindness yet
For days long ago.
And here’s my hand, my trusty friend,
And give me your hand too,
And we will take an excellent good-will drink
For the days of long ago.
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
Leaving this scruffy planet. *lool
and travel through the glalaxy by space ship.
I was not much of a dreamer at that time. I wanted to get to a grammar school, than some extra schooling and then construct radios and amplifiers and so on. To play with a pussy as soon as possible and later to have a car, a flat and some money.
No spiritual things. I wasn’t until some years later that I wanted to learn what Buddhism is about.
Dreams and wishes as a young girl. I grow up in war times in extreme poverty and ever present hunger for company. Our only luxury was our dreams since from borrowed books we read there was different life out there, there were land people had food, bathrooms with hot and cold running water, there were oceans sparkling under the hot sun, and pleasure boats plowed those waters, silks and satins, jewels furs, and travel, markets were food was spread out in great abundance.
From malnutrition, anemic, I suffered continual bladder infections, had peptic ulcer, and my lungs were badly affected had continual high temperature for years, deadly tired, vicious none stop headaches.
I only dreamed to have food what would be like to taste fish, lobster, a banana and how coffee smell was like. Did the croissant taste good as I read in a book, wondered what would be like to have hot bath to see what is indoor toilet look like, I wanted to have a dress of my very own which was never been worn by any other person before me.
I wanted a winter coat heavy so the icy winter wind could not blow through and wanted to have the headaches to stop. I wanted to eat rich cakes, and have chocolates, and enough money to taste ices cream list once in my life and beautiful shoes and a pair gloves for winter time. I dreamed to own ruby ring and how a sapphire real looked like. But mostly of food, since I never had a day when I have not wakened hungry and went to bed hungry……..I dreamed of beautiful things what they would be like to own, to travel, live in different countries.
All my dreams have come through. I am in complete health. Lived in six different countries, traveled, wore handmade shoes, designer dresses, had furs and have jewels. I could have had much more in form of solidity, but I walked through the door of a field auditor……. Values and my dreams my reality have changed.
At 12 I was busy trying to understand life.
And at 65, I still am.
.
I may be autistic like my cat.
🙂
My daughter, 3 years old, seems to have figured out something. She doesn’t try to understand life, she understands it.
hehe
Prepare the environment so that she can keep that long enough to be able to write a book about it.