Last week i had the strangest dream
Where everything was exactly how it seemed
Where theres never any mystery on who shot john f kennedy
It was just a man with something to prove
Slightly bored and severely confused
He steadied his rifle with his target in the center
And became famous on that day in november
Dont wake me i plan on sleeping in
And then last night i had that strange dream
Where everything was exactly how it seemed
Where concerns about the world getting warmer
The people thought they were just being rewarded
For treating others as they like to be treated
For obeying stop signs and curing diseases
For mailing letters with the address of the sender
Now we can swim any day in november
Dont wake me i plan on sleeping
(now we can swim any day in november)
Dont wake me i plan on sleeping in
-Postal Service "Sleeping In"-
well, here it is, i am not so sure why it took me so long for me to come up with this entry; but here goes....
if u were to read the lyrics that i posted above, you may have come to the conclusion that its ironic or rather interesting to note that the aouthor/lyricist/singer can only seem to be in an ideal world only when he sleeps; or at least thats the conclusion i came up with.
"sometimes" i always find myself sitting around and thinking about how i would like the world to be, or how i would like to see it or how i would like it to see me. As you may expect, i would come up with the most cliched idealic scenarios and hope that some day or maybe... even later in the day to be experiencing these so called ideals that i had imagined. but often i come up disappointed as expressed in this quote:
Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows.
David T. Wolf (1943 - )
People always expect or assume ideals, but what i realised is that what we should expect is that we can never truly experience ideal situations; "let there be no war, crime, poverty, discrimination etc etc etc.... (the list goes on as you can imagine)". I believe that an IDEAL is in fact a compromise between what we want and what we experience, a compromise between that idealic situation that we dream of and the actual situation we are faced with. For example, i often hear people tell me that it would be so nice for there not to be any poverty and that people should be more equal in economic status and social standings. My opinion is, and i have discussed this with several people who both disagree and agree me that even if this were to happen, what good would this truly bring? if there are no difference in social standings and financial status where would the spirit of competition, the willingness to improve and advance? Technology wouldnt have been at the level that it is at today, the ability for us to buy our favorite Ipods, Creatives or Playstation and Xbox 360s or our favorite shoes and clothes are things that we would not be able to enjoy to its full extent and potential. Hence, not achieving that ideal (as is the case with almost everything) is something that is a fact, something that is bound to happen. Another example would be wars, if there was no WW2 (which i agree, cost the lives of millions of people) the would not be as democratic as it is, instead it would have been a divided world that in essence would be filled with discirmination, crime, poverty and everything that we wouldnt have wanted to happen in the first place. So by accepting and compromising with the situation that was put upon before them, the soldiers of WW2 knew that what they were doing would lead to death and destruction but ultimately would lead to a better world, a world that would be a step or maybe even and inch closer to the ideals they were dreaming of in the first place. (As i always like to say, the compromising of ideals would often lead to a J Curve effect [thank you Econs, ;p] in a sense that things would always get worse before they get better.
What i am trying to say with the previous line is that things are always easier said than done and that its easy for me to go "oh, compromise... bla bla, etc etc" but as i have learnt over the past year or so, especially these last few months away on my own and facing situations that have shattered my idealistic thoughts and dreams, sometimes we just have to take it all in our stride and make the best out of everything we have and be thankful for it. However, if you see a chance or any opportunity whatsoever in making things better, take it.
Until then, dont wake me as i am planning on sleeping in....
P/S: I dont need to be thinking of ideals when i can just appreciate the simplest most beautiful thing GOD has bestowed upon me and my family... for now. Alhamdulillah (Thank GOD).
