Pull the Trigger
by Stew Pitt
Imagine, if you will, each of us is endowed with a massive dream cannon, loaded with passion that is wholly embraced and sourced from the energy of the universe that put each of us here, now. It seems like it might be really heavy to walk around with a huge cannon, and that notion is completely true if you keep it loaded all the time and never fire that sucker. I propose it’s time for each of us to stop walking around with it fully loaded. The time is now, pull the trigger.
A prevalent view of dreams coming true is one of great bliss and satisfaction, which ultimately, can be the truth of it. Along the way, however, is a violent tearing away, a rejection of all that is not that dream. First the walls that have kept us each locked inside these social constructs and rules must be destroyed or abandoned. From my personal experience, many voices have chimed in to oppose this crumbling, the abandonment of the safety the walls provide is certainly too much for even the bravest, at times.
I find the weight of the dream cannon is greatest when I sit in traffic, en route to serve the contract I have made to put a roof over my head and food upon the table. I drag it reluctantly to the desk where I slowly print the funds that never seem to satisfy the yearning that somehow this desk is all wrong. That somehow the last desk was wrong too. The letting go of all the detractors of our dreams is clearly the hardest part. This pulling of the trigger, this destruction, is completely necessary.
Once the safety net that traps us is destroyed, we may find a certain desperation, an emptiness in knowing. In this moment the dream is truly born. The clinging to the dream becomes the only way to navigate through the hard work that lies in this new path. All the energy that was once focused on making it to that desk on time, remaining there against our truest will, and dragging around this heavy and unfired cannon, must now be focused on embracing the dream. The dream cannon is real, and very powerful.
It is my belief that the universe will conspire to assist in manifesting our truest desires. Kenton Whitman of ReWild University provides inspiration in his video “Creating the Job of Your Dreams. You Can Do It!” He highlights the simplicity of taking the first steps toward dream job creation. Each of us can, and ultimately should, go after our dreams. The happiness and joy that we find when we pull the trigger will ultimately be in stark contrast to the perils and the weight of watching them pass by.
Chances are pretty good that if you are still reading this commentary, you might be waiting for some magic formula, a step by step guide on how to, the methods of success, or some other typical mapping of how it is done. To pretend I have the answers for you is not my angle, but if I can inspire you to release all that does not serve your dreams in the highest way, to conserve all your resources toward acquiring your personal vision, and to aim that heavily loaded dream cannon and pull the trigger, then we both win, and you have added spark to the universe. Each instance a person pulls the trigger on their dream, another person sees it is possible. When we heal ourselves from the servitude and lack of joy many find in the daily grind, we help to heal and inspire those around us, to pull the trigger and empower themselves.
May our dreams spread like a disease, may our cannons destroy the suffering inspired by a life unfulfilled, may my inspiration become your own. It all starts with pulling the trigger, pull it now, aim it well, and show others that it is worth it.
I find the notion is best summed up in this poem by Shel Silverstein
LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS
Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me—
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.