TAKING THAT LEAP OF FAITH

 

“You may always dream;

and, sometimes, they will even come true.”

Martin Hurkens

 

Last evening, my friend, Rekha, shared the inspiring story of Martin Hurkens. I don’t think many of you have heard about him. At least, I hadn’t, till I read his incredible story.

The story tells us, that Martin worked for over thirty-five years as a baker. He was, always, passionate about singing and possessed a natural tenor-voice. He sang the popular songs as he went about his baking work and delighted his customers. Then came a day, when he lost his job and was left with nothing to fall back on for his livelihood. He had a family to fend; but he was too old to seek a new job. Faced with this challenge, he decided to hit the streets of his city in Holland and sing with all his heart… The onlookers dropped small coins in his hat. But, a new leap of faith had been taken… Martin’s destiny was on its way to unfold! His young daughter, without his knowledge, sent his entry form for the reality show, ‘Holland’s Got Talent’. Martin, who was literally pushed into it, eventually went on to win the finals… A new star had risen and adorned the sky!

When Martin decided to come out and sing his heart out, along the city streets, what he did was to come out of his own gloom. Singing was his natural talent… He hadn’t been trained to sing; but, he had trained himself to sing the most difficult opera as he worked as a baker. Now, out of necessity, it had become his work – whatever the hat brought home!

True talent, always, finds its own way to glory!

The story of Martin is the familiar story of every star that adorns the galaxy. Every star occupies its place, up there, only this way. In Martin’s own words, “You may always dream; and, sometimes, they will even come true.”

Do we notice that little word ‘even’?

Yes, we all dream our dreams… Our little dreams and large dreams. But, can we say, with certainty, that our dreams will come true?

Yes, we can’t. But, we if we take the leap of faith and start with whatever we possess and wherever we stand, there is a better chance of  we wooing the Lady Luck… You see, She is known to favour the brave… Those who take the leap of faith!

This morning, Neha, another friend of mine, had shared one of her creations:

Just the way, Martin would sing his beautiful songs, for over thirty-five years, as he kept working, every day,  as a baker, and just the way I keep blogging every day as I go about doing my own daily ‘baking work’, Neha, too, has been creating these tasteful decors with whatever she owns and wherever she stands… Simple somethings to adorn your house. Just as singing was a natural gift for Martin, and writing was for me, creating these tasteful decors was a natural gift for Neha. She, too, had woken up to this reality, some years ago… and, yes, the hard way!

In Neha’s case, it was the dark phase of depression. Things were going from bad to worse, as she grappled with family and job… Her second baby was just born, and confusion and anxiety had come to dominate her mind… She had to quit her job, and was struggling to regain her lost feeling of self-worth… It was an uphill road. But, thread by thread, she wove back her piece of cloth, called Life. It was during this period of recovery, that Neha discovered her fascination for tasteful decors… as I said, she started creating them with whatever she possessed and wherever she stood. Slowly, she started sharing them on Instagram and Facebook… When people liked them, she started liking herself… Slowly but surely, Neha had defeated her depression and brought colours back into her life!

There are countless people like Martin, Neha and me – yes, doing what we simply enjoy doing. Singing, creating decors, blogging – all these are not only our respective roads to recovery, they, are, also, the only way to make our dreams come true…

“Who knows?”… “You never know!”

I think, the only thing we should really know is to take that leap of faith… yes, with whatever we possess and wherever we stand!

 

GERALD D’CUNHA

 

Pic’s: Neha Mehrotra

 

Videos: 1. & 2. L1 3. NRGY Music