In 2020, film director Albinas Kirkilas filmed this short film titled 'Life Trip' in English; a work in which he used my piano composition 'Rebirth' as the musical background.
'Life Trip' is about a man in his thirties who realises that he has not achieved most of his dreams. He is looking for a way to cope with his expectations. This story inspired me to write the following:
Youth usually goes hand in hand with big dreams. High expectations prevail, accompanied by a sense of excitement for the years to come. Who hasn't ever imagined being a famous person with remarkable achievements? Those dreams, while they might have been difficult to achieve, never seemed to frighten us, but on the contrary, drove us to seek answers, to be curious and filled us with hope. Many of us thought that our adult life would undoubtedly be exciting and full of wonderful experiences! Yet suddenly, in what seems like the blink of an eye, we wake up in a body that has piled up years, living a monotonous life, with no special motivation, no great achievements. Our life is so different from how we once imagined it that we hardly recognise that young dreamer. Where did the time go? When did we stop dreaming? These questions open the door to guilt, disappointment and sadness, yet reflecting on them can give us important answers.
The passing of time is an essential part of life. To think that this has been the cause of any of our ills is simply nonsense. Our present is the result of the sum of decisions we have made from our youth to the present. Whether they were fruitful decisions or not, our present speaks for itself. In other words, if today we are not the person we would like to be and the path runs against achieving it, then it's time to examine our past. What have we invested most of our time in up to now? It is likely that a lack of awareness of the importance of time and its management has allowed time thieves to take over our lives. These are nothing more than distractions that provide immediate rewards in exchange for our time and invite us to procrastinate activities that would really contribute to our development. These include alcohol, drugs, excessive use of social media, pornography, banal pleasures and many more. These activities turn out to be addictive because of the satisfying hormones that our body secretes when we engage in them. Consequently, they give an illusion of false happiness while we waste our time; and in this way, our dreams end up clouded by trivialities that weaken our self-confidence and capacity for self-regulation..
Accepting our responsibility for what we have achieved and also for what we have not is vital. We cannot get that time back, but learning from it has value for our present. What can I do differently today that will positively influence my present and my future?
Change of Habits. A New Awakening
Young dreams without planning and discipline are a fading illusion. For a dream to become a goal requires effort, direction and a succession of decisions focused in that direction. Every day you have the choice of thinking "it's too late" or getting started on doing things. Today you are the younger version of yourself for the rest of your life, so make the most of your abilities. You are responsible for your time and therefore for the results you achieve. Let's turn down the volume of the ego that paralyses us and takes our mind to the future in the form of anxiety, and to the past in the form of guilt and regret. Don't change the dream, change your attitude and habits.
It takes vision, self-worth and discipline to improve. I cannot guarantee that you will achieve everything you dreamed of as a child, but I can guarantee that you will have a rewarding life, free of guilt and filled with the satisfaction of doing your best and using your time wisely. In a few years, if you so choose, you will be able to look back on that time of distraction as a great teacher who helped you get back on track.
And yes, starting over can be hard, but giving up is tougher. Let's embrace those young dreams and turn them into adult goals with the motivation and discipline to achieve them. Open yourself to live with their successes and failures. No matter how old you are, today you have your present. Your daily actions will be small steps towards your goal or more deviations along the way. Lighten your load of the past, learn from it and move on.
“Your life doesn't get better by chance, it gets better because of change.” - Jim Rohn