Of small and large

I think I'm afraid. I'm afraid of being passionate. I'm afraid of being passionate because I'm afraid of failure. I'm afraid of failure and ridicule from, I don't know who. My family. Maybe my friends maybe nobody. Maybe I'm afraid that nobody will scoff at me because that means nobody saw me try. That means that maybe nobody saw me succeed. If you succeed but no one was there to see it, did you really accomplish anything? Is it possible that I'm afraid of success? Or maybe I'm just afraid of change. Success in our society is often measured by how much change took place. Andrew Carnegie, for example would not have nearly the renown he does today if he had gone from rags to a peaceful middle-class home. His passion took him beyond that, in almost every way, good or bad. He gained so much, but he lost a lot too. Passion is what propels us forward, and evokes powerful changes. What humanity often forgets is what falls by the wayside in our powerful pursuits. There comes a point on everybody's life where they have to decide to pursue their biggest dream and fill their life with that, or whether they are going to follow a gentler road, and fill the void of a forgotten dream with the smaller graces of life. Perhaps one path is better than the other; who's to say? Maybe it doesn't really matter. What matters is what each of will choose for ourselves, and when we do, can we ever turn back? Is a discarded dream lost forever to only be taken out of the attic and dusted off every now and then? Or can it age like wine and become riper with aging? Events like passions and dreams are so independent of each other, yet so intertwined. You cannot generalize people's desires, yet as society we always try to. I cannot say much for the dreams and passions of the world. I can barely say anything about my own. I can say this, though. Whether you lead a life of one strong passion or many mild ones, do not let fear govern your choice.