Heartaches

Hello dear reader, welcome to Monday. The day where you get to read the wise words that flow from my brain and into this blog. You lucky thing, you. 

So, now that I have finished with my travel blogs it is time for me to move the focus back on the book and other issues that emerge from it. 

On the book front, my line editing process is FINISHED! Woot, woot! Which means we can FINALLY move on to the cover of the book and I can get a definite date to you guys. Eek! I am stoked! Can you tell I'm stoked? I am so, so, so stoked! Who wouldn't be stoked if their dream was actualizing in front of them?

Everybody. 

Everybody who has ever had a dream. It's kind of insane how precious dreams are. I mean, on the surface they are this pretty shiny thing, giving us hope, wonder, and stars, but deep down, they are something more. 

I've been getting messages from people, everyday people, telling me that they are so happy that I am actually doing something about my dream. They are so excited that I am making it come alive for me and I could not be more touched by their selflessness. 

But you know what I have noticed? Every story that I receive and every story that is shared with me has a little bit of heartache. A little bit of pain and a little bit of regret. Because everyone has their own life, with their own problems, their own heartaches and their own dreams. There is one thing or the other that is stopping them, delaying them or even pushing them away from actualizing their dreams. 

When someone shares a piece of their heart with you, it is really easy to give them advice and to tell them to overcome their obstacles. But, its another thing to help them out of it. 

That is a whole new level. 

When you are advising someone on their situation you are doing the bare minimum. When you are giving them suggestions you are doing nothing more than scratching the surface. What we need to do, dear reader, is invest in that person. To spend time with the individual, to actively become involved in solving their issues and to step away from judgmental image you have of them. 

Now when you read this you will ask me why? Why should I do any of that? What's in it for me? What about me?

Look carefully into those questions, dear reader, and you will find the answer.  

It is because you are so involved with the self that you have no concept left of giving selflessly, of investing in someone else or caring for someone other than you. Some people are happy and excited about my dreams becoming a reality while others sit there and wonder, "What has she done to deserve it?"

And that becomes dangerous, dear reader. Not because you're hurting my heart, but because you are hurting your own. In fact, you are losing your heart. You are losing compassion. And you are losing humanity.

When these individuals message me to congratulate me, express their excitement for my dreams and promise a bright future for me, it makes me happy. It makes me want to dream bigger and do more. It encourages me to take bigger risks and to climb higher than I had ever dreamed of. 

And this is just by the support of anonymous messages that I receive.  Imagine if you connected with someone on a personal level, doing something for them without expecting anything in return. Imaging what you would be doing for them.

Crazy isn't it? But it works and it shows the beauty in how humans can be as constructive as we are destructive and hazardous to one another. 

Be constructive. Get out there and help someone with something for their sake. Try to understand their heartaches, their dreams, and their perspective and put yourself on the back burner. 

The results of your selflessness, your compassion and your love will be nothing short of amazing. The media and the world today does nothing more than feed our soul with the promise of "you, you, you," and you cannot help but indulge in that theory. 

That is not the way to go. Trust me, dear reader, that is NOT the way to go. Try my way. Invest in a family member, in your wife, in your neighbour, in your friend, in a stranger, in a homeless person and so on and so on. Invest selflessly and then watch the good it does for you. 

Try it, dear reader, and then let me know what your heart feels like. 

Until next time, smiles up and doubts down. 

isheeza