My First Crush

My first crush was my dentist. I loved going to his office and sitting in the waiting area, like I was waiting to be whisked away for a top secret meeting of all the board members of Qatar Petroleum. He was always the kids best friend. He would talk to you like he is your age.

And if he ever said that he was disappointed in you, that's when you knew that your teeth are messed up.

One of my favourite childhood lines was, when the dentist would take out our cavities or our milk teeth, turn around and say those magic words, " Now for the next two days, you have to eat ONLY ice cream."

That was Disney Land for me.

So for me going to dentist was a trip to Chaman ice cream parlour five times a day.

We went to him today after ten years. And I saw myself as the 7 year old that used to go there after every six months. We went to his house and it was magnificent. A two canal house in Defence which has four cars parked on the right and a huge beautifully tended garden on the left. Everything so precise and pristine that you would never be able to guess what sadness lies beneath all that shine. On the name plate it says, B.D.S, M.P.F.A, F.I.C.D. ( USA) and the walls are lined with certificates of recognition from all over the world.

You would never know that his 26 year old son who had just returned after becoming a Dentist as well and was about to get married, died in a fire and that very house was burned to the ground. This happened 11 years ago.

And even now he couldn't control his tears. It was evident that the tragedy had eaten him from inside.

I had to hear the not so magical words, " I am very disappointed in you. " And the always heard ones, "Such different names all you guys have. "

And in that moment, I thanked Allah for all the blessings I have and seem to forget about everyday. This is one thing we have no control over.

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Dream It. Believe It. Achieve It

Why do we dream ? Our dreams are things that we would want to do in our life. Things that we secretly want or the life that we imagine ourselves in. Things we would like to become. Things we would like to have. But if we don't get it because you do not get everything. What happens then ? Your own dreams become your worst nightmare and you wish that you would never have dreamt.

People say that nightmares are the one that are fearful but dreams should be feared more. Because if what you dream, you don't achieve it, you are broken in pieces and that is the worst kind of fear anyone can imagine. Nightmares are horrible thoughts and things that you see just like an enemy that you know is not good for you but dreams are like double faced friends. You think that they are your best friends when at the end of they day, they stab you in the back.

When you dream, it is like you are creating a very high building. A skyscraper. And when reality hits you, that building comes down crumbling and no amount of hard work can save it. Because dreaming is not hard work. It is more like the shortcut of just wanting things, not going after them. Because people who want things, go after them.

Maybe that is enough reason for us to live in reality. I remember once someone said to me that you should even dream by first looking at what you can dream. What the hell ? Right ? I mean, now even dreams have prices. It is true that you dream when you know that you can get them. Reality is cut throat but it keeps you on the earth and does not let you fly to the seventh sky. So if you ever by mistake fall down, you will not get bruised badly.

There is a dreamer and then there is a realist.

But then if we do not dream then how are we suppose to live ? Because dreams are your beliefs as well. So if you do not dream, it is like not believing. It is as if you are hopeless, that you have given up before even trying. How can you be so sure that you will not achieve it ? How do you know that you cannot do it ? Have you seen the future ? Do you not believe in the person who created you ? Believe in Allah. In life things tend to workout from the least expected ways possible. Ways you had never imagined. When thousands of doors close on you, another opens up.

I think today I can say that yes, it is okay to dream. Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it. Your determination and your belief in them will get you to your dreams. So one day, you will wake up and will be where you always wanted to be. Your bubble will not burst. And then all that remains are the times when you did not believe in yourself and all the obstacles that came your way.

Have the courage to go after what you dream. Change the reality of your life by going for your dreams. Instead of living the reality, change it. Because it is better to live with the fact that you went after your dreams then to live with regrets of not dreaming. 

Like Henry David Thoreau said:

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours. "

Dream like a king. Work like a donkey. Believe like a crazy person. And one day the world will be yours.

...SAP...