REACH YOUR IMPOSSIBLE DREAM!

4. THRONE AND BROKEN DREAMS

A story by Elie Molly*

Beijing, 3 September 2019

A father's dream is to have an excellent son, and the son's dream is to meet his father's expectancy. What will happen if a father sets the uttermost standards that his son fails to reach? I got the extreme answer in the movie I watched two days ago. "The Throne 사도 (2015)", a South Korean movie set in the 18th century.

The story revolves around the relationship between the crown prince and his father, the king. The son struggles to prove himself capable of taking care of royal affairs, yet his father's respect and approval are nowhere to be earned. He seems to be always wrong and never good enough for his father, no matter how hard he tries. Feeling frustrated with this situation, he starts to ignore his royal tasks and commit a rebellion. The king later finds out and punishes him until his last breath.

This is one of the most heartbreaking stories I've ever seen in a movie. A story that I could not easily forget. I put myself in the son's shoes, and I feel his pain. A good father will never punish his child severely, no matter how big his mistake is. Punishment is God's affair, not the human's. What a father can do is to guide him in the right way. Not to always criticize him. A child who grows up with criticism instead of acceptance would likely be the man who lacks confidence and lack of love, a kind of person who is unhappy and doesn't fit in society.

Father is the first man on earth to whom children learn and shape their inner qualities. How can we trust others and trust the world as a safe place to live if our fathers, the first man in our lives, failed to show us his respect and acceptance? How can we love others and live the life that has been granted to us if our fathers, the first man in our lives, failed to show us his affection and mercy? When we heard our fathers' blaming and shouting voices, when we saw his disappointed and hateful gazes, it is the first time we felt the cut in our hearts, the scar that we would carry in our souls for the rest of our lives. And it's true; the first cut is always the deepest.

The movie has made me think about my past and my future. I'm a daughter in my family, not a son, but I remember how my father's relationship was. When I was a child, he was not the best father in the world; he looked down on me whenever I talked about dreams. But Alhamdulillah, I have the best mother ever, who always believes in me and supports me whatever dreams I conceived in my mind. She changes people around her to support me as she always does. My dad has now become a good father because of my mom's neverending efforts.

My dreams don't always look bright. Sometimes I feel that my biggest dream is also my biggest fear. Sometimes I want to be alone, without carrying any dream in my mind. When I was younger, I liked to listen to Green Day's song entitled "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." How if my dreams are broken just like the king's dream in the movie? And how if I'm not good enough to reach the hill just like the crown prince is? There are times when my heart sings the song:

🎵 My shadow's the only one that walks beside me.
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating.
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me.
Till then, I walk alone.🎵

Then I realize that I never walk alone. There are always my mom and dad who support me, pray for me, and wait for me to come back home. And whenever I bring the not-so-good news, they are always there to listen and accept. When my feet are broken, they give me wings. Their patience and acceptance in whatever situations I'm in are my unbreakable wings. And when I'm far, their prayers for me are my loyal companion.

I really never walk alone. Someone is always watching me, guiding me, leading me to the right path, and forgiving me when making mistakes. I can't see His face; I can't hear His voice, I can't smell and touch His presence. Yet I always feel His existence; I never feel lost my way.

Allah, God Almighty, is always beside me and blessing me with enough strength to carry my dreams. He has given me good parents. I can choose a friend and a spouse, but I can't choose my parents, for they are special gifts from God. Indeed, Allah is the best giver, the best dream-answerer; with Him; no dreams will ever be broken because whenever He says "be," then it happens. 🎈

*Elie Molly, author of the book "Dare To Dream."

To connect with the author and know more about her books, visit: 

https://eliemolly.wixsite.com/website

https://web.facebook.com/eliemulyadi2