Always the Ideal

Give a moment to pause. A time to think. A time to learn. For indeed, each morning is a time to start learning once more. An appropriate occasion to subject ourselves in the hands of able teachers in a well-renowned institution called life. Time to reflect on what really matters and to determine what is really ideal for us.

In some areas of the world, school is just about to start. Children are placed in an institution that promises the ideal core values to be inculcated in the heart of the young. The question is, when do we get old to be able to ignore these values? When do we stop learning? And can we ever get out so easily from the perpetual learning institution called life? Can we ever turn around from the responsibility of doing only what is best and what is ideal?

My mind tells me that ever since we learned to listen to the stories and lessons that our elders care to share, we are primed to follow only what is ideal. Even before we get to be affiliated with any institution, school has already started for us. These (the stories and the lessons) are things that can never be outgrown for there will always be elders around us no matter how many birthdays we celebrate. They will continue to lecture, to remind us of what "must be" in everything. Their stories are sparks of wisdom we cannot ignore. Their lessons are their legacy. And even so, we still end up in paths less than ideal. We make mistakes.

Moreover, many of us tend to leave the sheltered life behind always sooner than expected. We are, unbelievably, always in a hurry. We are then subjected to the harsh realities of living alone a little early than scheduled. Then we begin to search for a shoulder in times of distress. A quest that is not easy for most of us. Sometimes we experience a lot of misery before we find our ideal life. This is how it will begin. The moment we encounter troublesome experiences, we remember the stories. We remember the lessons. And we try to search always for the ideal hoping that some miracle can undo some of our miscalculations in life.

Idealism in Relationships

Other than striving to do what is ideal all of the time, man's other need is the need to be needed. So that at the end of the day, he can simply rest his head in peace knowing that there is someone who truly cares, who truly understands in the midst of this unsparing world. We search for someone who fits the description of being an ideal partner. For each time we acknowledge the reasons why we need them, deep in our hearts we know that they need us too. The excitement of a relationship after the dating period ends lies in the instant we fall out of love and realize that as much as we need them to care, they also need us to remain devoted even when the funny feeling of giddiness is gone. It must be a loving and mutual bond that determines our co-existence not just the high we enjoyed when we first meet. As much they are there for us in times of need, they can count on us when they need help as well. The solid evidence of belonging that reaches out to one specific other who needs you as keenly as you need them is, at the end of the day, when your heart searches for none other but the same person each time. In fact, everyday is a struggle and we try our best to find our perfect partner, the one who needs us as much as we need them.

Idealism in the Office

In a working environment, we must perform what is expected of us to its perfection. There is no other way to survive but to do what is ideal at work. We must be able to respond to the needs of our clients so that they will give us what we need, as well, which is a good salary. If you deliver less than expected, you will not be compensated fully. More than that, you will feel oddly incompetent, ineffective with your chosen career. Our genes have been primed to seek what is ideal. Some others will step up to fight and succeed to reach the top of the corporate ladder. Most of us, however, will wear masks of perfection to hide these rotten feelings. We still smile. We still exchange the usual jokes. But deep within is the hidden insecurity of being second best. Perchance, if someone cares to look closer, they will see layers and layers of broken dreams piled up one after another burying the real passion that we are born with.

Idealism in our Heads

Blinded by society's stereotype of going to school, work and marry idea, many of us settle on being mediocre, forgetting that we are meant to excel. Forgetting that we must strive to be the best. Likened to a cloud we are meant to stay afloat up there, pretty and free. We are not meant to be tied, in some manner, like a kite whose reach is limited by the length of its thread. If there is something we need to see and see clearly, it should not be our inefficiencies rather it should be our own hearts filled with passion. We must learn to find our thermals of inspiration with whatever passion we find inside us and simply fly. We must face life bravely and take off our masks.

When a person begins his journey outwards, seeking to prove to the world that he can transcend all of its obstacles, he has chosen to lose. For the world can only demand more and more from you till you have none. On the other hand, if you begin your journey within, digging up the seed, the talent, the skills God planted in you, you will surely win. What you will unearth is a passion that will lift you higher and higher. A passion that will not watch the clock, an endeavor that will not count the hours. A light feeling of being filled to the brim and overflowing. A desire to keep on spreading the fire of love: love of life, love of work, love of helping, love of God.

This is the kind of passion that the universal energy interacts. The energy that attracts the strongest manifestation of thoughts, words and actions. At the end of the day, when the light of the sun sets, our physical energy rests. The search for the ideal temporarily ends. Our hearts will turn to the one we cherish, to the one who supports us when we are weakest, the one who cheers for us to move on in moments that we falter. The only one who brings out not just the best in us but the one who also dares to remove the masks we wear and still accepts us. The one whom others may not always see as ideal and yet it is the shoulder that always feels like our own but a little stronger - the very one that our heart chose to be its ideal. The one whom we would surely administer all of our attention with utmost ardor. For the world may define ideal in some other way but your heart knows what it is you seek. Break free and have faith.