Answer this.

I have a question for you. Yes, you. You in front of this screen. You reading these words. I know what you're trying to do. Don't you dare stop reading. You've come this far, and you can't turn back. No, you can't. Stop whining. You can go away if you want to, but I know that you won't. You can't stop now. It's a magnetic impulse. Convenient, eh?

Are you sure you want to consider the matter I am about to throw at you? It's a hard question to answer. It'll hit you like a ton of bricks tied to an overweight hippo.Oh yes, it's that difficult. It's slippery and slimy and utterly inconceivable. It's a question we ask ourselves every day. We think we know the answer, but the truth is that we're just fooling ourselves. We don't know. And when the human race can't find an answer to a question, they fabricate one. This is what you do:

You pick the question, a complex one containing equally complex words. You stare at it and rub at your nose absently, seemingly deep in thought, pondering the matter while not really seeing it at all. Then you jump to your feet with a typical, "Eureka! Jiminy Cricket, I see it now!" and give a speech. How long? Well, a half-hour long speech should do. It's not like it makes sense anyway.

I don't make sense you say? Well, that's because I haven't said anything senseless yet. It is only when anything makes sense that it really doesn't. Every word here makes sense. But you can't see it for what it is. And that's what this is all about.

The senseless.

Do you know who you are?

Let's start with the name. Who named you? Didn't you ever wonder why you were given this name? If you could choose now, would you keep your name? But these are all very simple, insanely logical questions. And logic never gives rise to anything. But no, that wasn't my Question. I'm not as stupid as that. My Question is something very different altogether. To answer this question, you'll need to use your imagination. Yes you have one. Imagine yourself, staring into the distance, a picture of hope, and breathless, determined fury.

Done? Good. That was just the easy part.

Aside from being hopeful, breathless and determined, you need to be despondent. Know what the word means? If you don't, get a dictionary. I'm not going to do it for you. Be hopeful and hopeless at the same time. It's not that difficult.

Now, your tiny imagined You must reach out... reach out towards the horizon. Imagine yourself seated on the edge of a cliff, facing the wide expanse of deep, bottomless ocean.

I said bottomless. Get every detail right, why don't you? Here, you're almost touching the horizon. It's a faint line, quite blurred. Reaching out, you brush the horizon with your fingers, only to fall back with a sigh. Now, repeat after me: "The horizon has always posed to me as a mysterious question-mark, etching a blurred and yet distinctive line between fate and destiny."

Congratulations! Hail the celebrations! Have a cookie! Here comes the confetti!

Stage one is complete.

Now for the Question. Welcome to stage three. ( Yes, there was a stage two, you nitwit. But you were giving me such killer glares that I decided to skip to the end. Stop tapping your foot like that! I can see that you're impatient, but there's no need to get annoying!)

So, the question. You might want to clear your throat and imagine a drumroll. I do love my dramatic effects!

Erhem... What is the difference between fate, destiny and dreams?

The answer? You tell me. Fate is destined to be. Fate is written. Fate is just... present. Destiny is like fate, only it depends on you. Destiny isn't always meant to be. It could be. Dreams intertwine with both. If your dreams are a part of your destiny, consider yourself lucky.

There's so much you could tell me. There are so many ways of answering this question. You could say that fate is beyond us, that it's something we cannot control. Yes, clap yourself on the back. You've probably come up with at least twenty reasons by now. You feel exhilarated. You feel like a balloon hovering - yes, hovering- in the sky. You're lighthearted and free. But now, if I were to add to the question, would you tell me the answer? You would? OK, then...

What IS fate?

You don't know? I had a feeling you'd say that. And here you are, all sullen faced and plopped down on the ground. It's strange, really, how people are like kites sometimes. When the wind pushes them, they enter the celestial blue of the sky, flinging themselves to unimaginable heights. Their heart is as airy and free as the atmosphere around them. But kites come hurtling down again, and that's where they have to learn to pick themselves up before they hit the ground.

Get your sorry self off the ground right now.

Anyway, the point of asking this question is the fact that you can't answer it. Yes, it's stupid, but it's smart. The next time you're about to say: "Hey, I can control my fate," you'll probably think twice before doing so. If you don't know what something is, then how the heck can you make any assumptions about it?

Destiny is different. But the problem is, that half the time you don't know what that is either. Dreams are much more substantial. Dreams make sense. But they too are slippery things. You can be led your whole life to believe you desperately want something, only to find that it wasn't a real dream after all. Life is confusing, pal. Raging a storm won't help matters at all.So, how do you follow your dreams when you're so uncertain?

You trust yourself. I would know, I've decided to trust myself too. I'm determined to follow my dreams. Dreams don't come true overnight, or even after weeks of work and rubbing your nose ostentatiously against a just-as-stubborn grindstone. I won't give my dreams up, and I'm determined not to forget them. So I tell myself, "Hark! Let us look at life with a merry grin, accept it, and move on."

Sometimes, the path you're walking on fills you with doubt. You wonder, what am I doing here? Do I belong on this path? Do I belong in this crowd of people who are probably striding with a sense of purpose? And you decide that you do. You do belong here because it was a choice you made on your own. It's a choice you made without forgetting where your dreams lie. It's a choice you've made and a choice you will stick to. There's no need to lust moodily after the horizon, knowing it is in sight, but still out of reach. There is no need to perch yourself on a cliff and just stare at it. When you are on a cliff, acquaint yourself with it. Acquaint yourself with all the puzzles it hands you, all the questions it asks.

Life is a beautiful mystery- every chain unfolds to reveal a blossoming rose. So I choose to remain on the island of Now. I choose to stare at the horizon once a day, dream once, then turn to making my dream turn a reality. Dreams are like constant, ever changing perfumes. And change, while you may detest it , you shall grow to love. It shall become your friend, and shall help you surmount into this world of will and willow. Because, as it turns out, we humans do know something about dreams after all.

I know what I'm meant to do. I know that dreams are like lacy inklings along the Real Purpose of the world. But do you know?