Following a dream

How far do we go to follow a dream? Do we have the strength to give it all up? Rise up in the face of all we know and just let go? How simple it seems..two words..let go! Yet how many of us can truly let go and be free? Free from lifes entanglements and snares? It's not easy, yet most things of value never are. For most of us, being free came and went with childhood. Lost memories of times long ago, when all was take care of by an unknown hand. A mother, father, grandparent...someone else to bear the burden of life's responsibilities. Yet all too soon, we have grown up..it is not what we imagined, we (at least those of us who have grown up in big cities) soon forget the spontaneity of laughter, the easy sigh of sleep, entrapped in what we believe we must be. What we have been taught that we should want. Material gain will make us happy..staring at a tv screen will obliviate our mind to the days stress and monotony. I for one was the same, struggling in my own right, trying hard not to conform, knowing that each day it was becoming more difficult to resist what has been ingrained. I like most found it was easier to give up, and accept. Letting go! should not be so difficult..yet it is like jumping into deep water for the first time, scared that you will get lost. Yet water is buoyant and rarely do we drown, we are made to survive. It is only our own socially constructed fears that stop us from letting go and being free...
Yes the definition of free is different for all, for me it is being unburdened by the past, by the future, and trying to live in the moment. Something I too have yet to accomplish.

This weekend I learned a lot in Montreal, thanks to Genevieve and Thierry, and their friends. They were kind enough to welcome me, and in a cabin near a frozen lake. I found peace. It would have been difficult not to, surrounded by snow and pine forests..minus 25 C yet it was marvelous. Fresh, invigorating and most of all alive.
I discovered a world which I thought only existed in the memories of the old, I caught a tantalizing glimpse in Brittany. Yet here I was in the middle of a traditional square dance, wood burning stove and all. Guess what, they were all young, and talented. Filled to the brim with life, it flowed out of their instruments, violins, flutes- guitars. It also flowed in their story telling..tales long past. Which came alive under the one instrument that we are born with, our ability for speech. It was the same with the cailleux, or the caller directing the square dance. Probably not more then 30, he traveled to France and Scotland, and acquired them first hand, remembering the patterns and the lyrics..For some this may be nothing, yet for me it opened my eyes..perhaps not all but some live a life much simpler then most.
It would be a mistake to regard my words as those being too naive. I for one know that every life has its own share of difficulties, heartbreaks and times of frustration, yet to overcome all this and still be able to live a life free from the constraints and dictates of society. Given the ability to survive on your own capabilities, without being told what to do, working outside not enclosed in four walls. Your walls are forests filled with trees, your boss the climate, perhaps a more difficult task master -its fury is immense. Yet your ceiling is an immense canvas, of changing colors, grey, pink, dark blue..only to surprise you in the end with the most magnificent show, of glittering stars, shapes and sliding comets. An ever changing pattern, interspersed with the moon..I saw the southern cross pulsing with life, and orions belt pointing the way, only to stay mesmorized till my feet were numb and now I have a cold, but to be there again, it would be worth it. Looking up at the sky, you realize how totally insignificant you are and all the worries and stress are for nothing. People pass from one world to the next yet these patterns have stayed the same for thousands of years...Im glad Ive come to realize this while I still have the energy to evolve..and follow a dream as well. If I only let go.