The power of mind
“Light is the fastest speed in the universe, exceeding any speed.” Einstein told the world. Truly, if there were something faster than light, time would stop, and even go backwards. But, in class, I was hit by an inspiring sentence: nothing can surpass light except our mind since it is our mind that enables us to look back and foresee our future. These memorable words deepened my understanding of the power of mind.

Looking back, we may encounter extreme fears, something we don’t want to bring up, and hope to be forever hidden. We may be trapped in adverse situations, where we are helpless and confused in face of the incomprehensible nature. But just as Einstein said, the only incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible. The short-lived biped on a two-bit planet can still move forward and make miracles, because the power of mind, which exceeds any speed in universe, can bring us faith and spirit. Eventually, this power could surpass our fears, and destroy all the negative conditions.

This reminds me of the stories of some great minds, such as Steve Jobs, the legendary former CEO of Apple. When Steve had just released his first creation—the Macintosh, he got fired from Apple, the company he started. Very publicly out at that time, he lost the focus of his entire adult life. He really did not know what to do for a few months and even thought about running away from the valley, erasing all the failure experiences. However, thinking of the past, he found that he still loved what he did. “Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.” Steve said. It is this faith in his mind that helped him defeat all the painful memories of being fired, and then decided to start over.

Steve is not the only strong mind. Though suffering from Parkinson disease, Hawking never lost his identity. His strong willpower propped him up in his way to calculate the gravitational tug of the black hole in his wheelchair. Though stammering seriously in childhood, Joe Girard did not feel abased. Instead, he made his mind to spent 17 years making effort, and finally became the best seller in the world.

Indeed, human beings are tiny little existence in the world, which are at times trapped in fears and adversity. But the strong spirit inside can motivate them to overcome the obstacles and make big success.

However, you might say not everyone can make such huge successes. Probably, most mediocre minds like ours are not capable of that. Yet it does not mean that our minds are not strong. We could also make a difference if we fully unleash our potential

A few months after the big earthquake happened in 12th May, 2008, Wenchuan was still a ruined city. The remains had been cleared, but people were too sorrowful to do anything. The death of their family, and the debris in their homeland in which their family were buried overshadowed their inner sun. For a very long time, people lost themselves in the entire darkness of past, lacking the strength to find their way out. But the history has not been meaningless. Gradually, they gained power and courage from the pain they had suffered. One year later, though heartbreaking, people there began to rebuild their homeland, slowly awakening from the past.

I also had painful experiences. Though not as painful as losing family in earthquake, it is still perhaps the biggest obstacle I have encountered. I was afraid of speaking publicly in my first twenty years. The embarrass moments on the stage were the least thing I wanted to remember. Though as a student leader, every time I avoided speaking in public whether I participated in any events, or held sessions. The stage fright followed me until last semester when I accidentally took a class called public speaking. We were required to give three speeches in front of the audience. I tried to escape, but failed. Thus, in order not to fail this course, I had to beat my fright. “Don’t lose faith. You can do it just as everybody else.” I told myself every time I practiced in front of wall. I didn’t remember how many painful practices I made, but I did know I finally made it.

Thus, the darkness in past is horrible. But what is more horrible is that we don’t even have the courage to face that. If your fear blocked your way out, use the power of your mind and don’t give up.

Looking ahead, the power of our mind gives us a dream. We all have an ideal future in our mind. Some get a dream big, while some small. Some may want to be successful in their career, while some others want to travel around the world. But whatever our dream is, we could realize it only if our mind puts it into strong action.

Say the journey of Mayflower. In order to arrive at the new world, the Americans sailed the Mayflower and started their expedition of dream. What beyond them were always unknown, except storms and winds, under which they could be easily torn apart. But the American dream of the new life made them spent efforts desperately. Fortunately, God favors those who made endeavors. They finally reached the paradise Dartmouth port and survived the first frigid winter.

The story of our in-coming president Mr. Xi also encourages me. I should say that his present glory stems from his continuous strong willpower toward dream. As an educated urban youth, Mr. Xi had to work in the countryside in Shanbei since he was 16. At that time, many youths gave up, and chose to be ordinary after the miserable labor work. But instead of being beaten, Mr. Xi decided to stay there for seven years. “I didn’t take any rest in 365 days. Every day I had to carry 100kg wheat through the endless mountain road, look after livestock in the night, and do everything I was asked to. ” Mr. Xi said.

Mr. Xi was definitely less sure about everything. He might not know how far he should go to reach her destination. Nor did he know what storms were waiting for him. But the mind is able to connect the future with the present, hard facts. He chose to stay in Shanbei because he had a dream that one day he could be a successful leader, which can only be fulfilled if he gets to know the masses better. Though no one believed that he could be back so successful, his persisted. Finally, he told the world about his success by his action.

Truly, mankind is great because of dreams. But mankind can only achieve their greatness if their dreams come true. Although our dream may be trivial compared to that of Mr. Xi or early American pioneers, it will still burst like a bubble if our mind is not strong enough. Thus, if you have a dream, give it full play. Use your strong power of mind to spur you on. Do not despair. Brave go on.

Indeed, as long as we believe in the power of mind, we could beat a number of disappointments in life and embrace our dream. Just as people say, you cannot change the environment, but you can change your own; you cannot change the facts, but you can change attitudes; you cannot change the past, but you can change now; you cannot do everything well, but you can be conscientious in everything, and make a change through the power of your mind.