Then go ahead and do it.
This was one such occasion.
I was talking to a retired chap who I've got to know over the past eighteen months. He asked if there was anything new with me. I could've said a vague, 'Just another day', but I felt the urge to tell him about my plans to move to Taiwan. At the time, I had kept these intentions quite close to my chest.
'I was in the Merchant Navy for nine years,' he said. 'I scrapped my last ship in Taiwan.'
. . . (and there's the first connection to my desire) . . .
He said that during his time in the Navy, he had a few harrowing moments.
'Being the only engineer on-board,' he said, 'if there was any problems, the crew would come to me. That's a lot of pressure for a young lad. I remember once, we thought the propeller had broken. In the middle of the ocean, I dangled over the edge of the ship to fix the problem. Many things go through your head when faced with such an experience. I thought my time was up. Anyway, the propeller hadn't broken.'
I asked him if being in the Navy was what he had always wanted to do.
'No, no,' he said. 'When I was twenty-one, I set myself a goal to be the director of a company. I didn't know which company, but I knew I wanted to be a director.'
'Did you achieve your goal?'
His eyes twinkled as he smiled. 'Yes, I achieved it. I worked for a company for twenty years and became the director. I achieved what I set out to achieve. If you really want to do something, you'll do it.'
One thing you should know about myself is that I've only been abroad once - and that was on a family holiday when I was fifteen (sixteen years ago). I've had very little travelling experience. I've never caught the 'travelling bug' that so many of my friends have been infected by in the past - some are still trying to shake it off. Even now, I don't see my trip to Taiwan as a holiday but more as a process of uprooting. After all, we're not trees - we can move. With that in mind, it's only natural that a sense of trepidation sometimes sneaks its way into my gut when I think of the mission I've embarked upon.
This fear was completely eradicated by what my friend went on to say, which backs up what I said about encounters that help the desire become manifest.
'I had never been out of the village before joining the Navy,' he said. 'No travelling experience whatsoever. Yet, it was the best thing I ever did. I've traveled the world. Go to Taiwan. You'll love it. You only regret the things you don't do.'
Next time you feel the urge to share your dream with someone - do it!
www.gavinwhyte.co.uk
