Do you remember chasing bubbles when you were a
child? They were a little hard to
catch. You had to run in all directions
before any of them escaped. Sometimes
the bubbles drifted high, out of reach as the wind carried them to secret
places. A few fell to the ground and
were easily crushed. They came in a
variety of sizes and the possibilities were endless. If you were lucky, a bubble landed intact and
you got to hold onto it with all the colors of the rainbow shimmering in the
sunlight. Then you had to make a wish
quickly before the bubble burst into tiny splatters and it was gone forever.
Chasing bubbles is a little like chasing dreams. Like bubbles, our
dreams come in different sizes. Small
hopes and dreams are easily reached. Our
bigger dreams may seem too hard to catch but, with careful planning, they are
within reach. Bigger dreams are worth
holding onto to . . . even if only for a short time.
Sergei Kourdakov followed his dream. Below are excerpts from his book. He was making final plans right before jumping
overboard from the Soviet trawler, Elagin.
“I
had less than fifteen minutes left for final preparation. The casual talk on the bridge had used up
precious seconds. Now I had to move fast
to make my moves during the few remaining minutes, while the deck was still
deserted. The minute the storm let up,
men would be all over the ship, checking for damage.”
_______________
“I
reached under my bunk and pulled out something I had been working on for some
time – a large, waterproof, bag-like belt.
I had made it out of heavy rubber for the outside and waterproof plastic
for the inside. Reaching into my cabinet
drawer, I took out the things I treasured most and planned to take with
me: photos of friends, comrades, and
familiar places back in Russia, none of which I would ever see again.”
“These
few cherished items would be all I carried with me out of the old life into the
new . . . .”
-Sergei Kourdakov, The Persecutor
(Chapter 1, pg. 13)
Some dreams are worth chasing.
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