One year ago, I was a child standing at one end of a giant tunnel - a dark, long, unending tunnel - leading to somewhere. I did not know where it went, I did not know if I'll ever reach the other side. And frankly, I did not even know if there was the other side.
It's not that I did not have an option - there was a highway right beside the tunnel. I could see people driving past me as I kept on standing still - drawn towards the darkness of the tunnel. An oracle had told me that I would find a magical garden at the end of this tunnel - Garden of Joy she called it - and so, as people kept on riding past me on the highway, I kept on staring at the giant, mysterious tunnel.
Today, I am back again at a tunnel. This one looks quite like the one I saw before. Big, long, dark, unending. And just like the last time, I have a decision to make. I have to decide whether I want to go inside. I am scared of the darkness, I am fearful of what might happen inside, and I am uncertain of the outcome. Will I ever be able to get out? Will I ever reach the end? Will I ever get to see the light? Will I ever get to the garden?
I wanted to reach to the garden so bad that I sacrificed the fun, open rides. I sacrificed the light I was standing in, and dared to enter into the darkness of the tunnel. And as soon as I turned back, the light was gone. I realized that there was no going back.
I remember what the oracle told me when I was leaving:"Don't wander, don't follow; go straight as an arrow. On the goal, you must focus. Rest all is hocus-pocus."I tried to follow her words. She said, "don't wander", and I tried not to wander. I tried to go straight, but I failed. Over the course of my journey, I felt likeeverything was designed to make me wander. I met monsters who wanted to make me captive in the tunnel. There were times when I lost my way in the darkness of the tunnel. I knew I had failed. I knew I had wandered - I knew I would not see the beautiful garden again. I reprimanded myself for choosing the tunnel when everyone else was taking the highway.But there was no going back.
I kept on walking forever - I kept on striving, I kept on battling newer and stronger monsters, and I kept on moving forward. Until one day, when I saw a glimmer of light. And as I ran towards it, I felt so excited to reach the garden - oh how beautiful it must be! The crisp sunshine, the fresh grass, the mystic air! I ran towards the light, tripping and tripping over, pushing my way through rocks and boulders blocking my way. I ran towards the light, and as it came closer to me, I could breathe the fresh air again - the clean, pure, fresh air which I had been missing in this tunnel - in this cold, dark tunnel. I ran towards the light, and I jumped out in excitement... Only to find myself on a road. In front of another tunnel. With people passing beside me on the highway.
Today, I am back again at a tunnel. And once again, I have a choice.
The garden of joy is our goals, our dreams and our aspirations. These are the resolutions you make - these are the purposes you attach yourselves to, these are the keys to your happiness and satisfaction. To reach to your goals, your dreams and your aspirations, you have to choose - take the highway, enjoy the moment or else, struggle, work hard and get out of your comfort zone - into the tunnel. It will be dark, it will be cold, it will be uncertain - you will have to fight monsters, you will fight fears on your way. But if you keep moving on, if you keep battling away the forces that try to keep you inside the long, dark tunnel forever, you will live to see the light at the end.
You will see the light at the end, but it won't be the garden you wanted so badly. It won't be the magic land the oracle promised, because the oracle would have played a trick on you. She would have said you'll reach the garden by going straight, while it will never be possible for you to go straight. The oracle - your resolute mind - in a moment of determination, will decide the entire course for your journey, while only you, the passenger of the dark, would see how realistic it is. You'll realize that going straight does not mean going straight towards your goals, it means going in a right manner - in small steps, battling the fears that hold you back from going further. And as you'll get out of the tunnel, you'll suddenly realize that the tunnel you just went through was just a small ride in a bigger scheme of things.
I did not reach the garden of joy. The oracle (my mind) showed me a very ideal picture of the garden (my resolution). She told me that I will reach it if I gostraight in the tunnel. But now I know that life is never that easy. Now I know that if I enter into another tunnel, I won't be expecting the garden at the end. I will keep on changing my way and fighting my battles - to see the light at the end. One day, I might find the garden. I might not. But that doesn't stop me from waiting in front of yet another tunnel and pondering, as other people choose the highway.
Today, after coming out of this tunnel, as I stand here on the road, I have a choice again. I can go through another tunnel, or I can choose the highway. But one thing I know for sure - that I am standing today at the end of the tunnel stronger than I was when I entered it.
