I have a dream

Do you recall your childhood dream? Wherein you dreamt or aspired to be someone, do something…what happened to that dream?

Yesterday I volunteered with a small group to help set up the reading library in my residential complex. Like a flash my childhood dream suddenly loomed in front of me. A voracious reader, I had always dreamt of opening a library. I tried following that up diligently and even applied to the University for a course in Library Science, something that would help give direction to my dream of if not opening a library, then at least becoming a librarian! Then life took over (as it does to almost all of us) and the dream got buried. Only to have resurfaced yesterday.

It hit me then that I had allowed my passion and my dream to get submerged. It was as though I had been afflicted by selective amnesia. Life and its ups and downs had me look at more secure and reliable dreams – dreams that gave me alternatives, options and money to survive.

The opportunity that presented itself to me was almost serendipitous. It was though there was a nudge from a Higher Power above that wanted me to go back to the recesses of my mind and pull out my dream. The excitement that I felt yesterday was almost the same when I breathed my dream as a young school student. The same adrenalin rush. The same enthusiasm to create something. That same feeling when I was amidst books – all lost and yet so much more alive.

Baking up a storm in the kitchen

When the pandemic struck in 2020, one food commodity flew out of the shelves globally. Guess which one was it? Baking flour or Maida as it is commonly known in India.

During the global lockdown, people turned towards eating home cooked food. Consumption patterns changed. Suddenly there was time at hand to cook. Many rediscovered hidden passion for baking. The community where I stayed suddenly witnessed a proliferation of home bakers! In Britain, a thousand-year-old baking factory – Sturminster Newton Mill (established in 1016) had to restart production! There was something very surreal about pandemic and the shortage of flour.

This shortage had nothing to do with hoarding or black marketing. It was more to do with people going back to the basics – taking a peep into their kitchens and realising that all this time processed food had ruled their lives. Time to go back to baking!

In parallel, it also reawakened the submerged dreams of many a wanna-be-a-baker and you could see pages upon pages of baking on Facebook and tons of photographs on Instagram and Pinterest. Baking had been revived and how!

Where is your dream today?

Of course, there are many dreams that cannot be given shape today or be the best career options. But we all have dreams that are closely linked with our passion that when given a chance, they can resurface. What if we were to take a closer look at those dreams and seek out the opportunities that they present? Think about it – that childhood dream was built around a passion that you still harbor. Only you never allowed yourself time to nurture it. May be because it wasn’t the best career option. The writer in your still lurks somewhere. That lure of painting still causes a flutter in your heart. Lack of green thumb notwithstanding, you perhaps still find yourself gravitating towards greenery and nurseries.

Touch base with yourself and let that dream resurface. There is always room to revisit and work on that dream.

Remember, successful people are those who are passionate about what they do.

Surely, we do not need to wait for another pandemic to make us look deep down within and bring those dreams back. You can do that today.

If you are indeed living your childhood dream, then consider yourself very fortunate.

If you are not, what are you doing about it?

The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.

Sarita Bahl

Sarita Bahl is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and the Swedish Institute of Management Program. An experienced and versatile leader, she comes with nearly four decades of professional experience. She has over the years successfully overseen the communications and public affairs function and led the corporate social responsibility strategy for Bayer South Asia, Pfizer, and Monsanto, among others. Sarita has held multiple roles across diverse industries, the public sector, trade associations, MNCs, and the not-for-profit sector. Her areas of interest include advocacy, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, and communications.

As an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Senior Practitioner (Mentoring) from the European Council of Mentoring and Coaching (EMCC), Sarita specializes in career transition, inner engineering and life issues. Sarita enjoys writing and is passionate about animals, books, and movies.