The Swell Season is a documentary that goes on tour with Marketa and Glen from 2007 to 2010. Here, Glen explains that at thirteen, he swapped the classroom for the streets of Ireland to busk.
“From then on I was completely on my path”, he said.
He had dared to dream and in this documentary, we get to walk the hills and valleys with him and Marketa.
At the beginning, Glen reflects on where he is now with disbelief. He talks about meeting a fan that had Fair Play to Those Who Dare To Dream tatooed on his arm and even before he sings a note, the crowds are already cheering.
He explains that success for him is like kicking your ball and it goes farther than you ever expected, which is both thrilling and frightening at the same time. His mom, sitting at home holding his Oscar, says it best when she says, “Imagine that”.
When I think of playing ball as a kid, I remember being afraid of the ball. I remember not wanting it to come to me, expecting failure. I also fantasied that when it would come to me, I would run so far with it that nobody would be able to catch me and somehow I would win the game.
During the documentary, we see Glen sitting with his Dad and talking about his Dad's dream. In his youth his Dad had been a champion boxer and had offers to go to America. Then he met Glen's mom and she became pregnant.
They asked him why he didn't take his opportunity, Was he afraid ?
He said, “No, no, I was fuckin' hugely confident at the game, in the boxing game ... but I was lost every other way."
A blank stare was all that was left of this lost dream. He had dared to dream but instead decided to drink and took his dream to the grave with him. When Glen won the Oscar he had said, “Fuck it, he's done it for me."
With an Oscar and concerts all over the world, Glen is a huge success. This success is like a cross that he carries for his Dad, his neighbours and for all those people that gave up on their dreams. Glen feels expectation as a “white terrifying panic” and says he is “fucking close to being in a really dark weird place”.
Two fans, a girlfriend and boyfriend had written Glen and Marketa on their hands pretending they were them. As the camera rolled, they became uncomfortable and said that they weren't, "pretending," they were just "laughing about it."
In the end, it is clear that success is a heavy load not only for Glen but also for his relationship with Marketa. She can't understand him and tells him that she couldn't live like he does, replacing struggles. She asks him, "Would you not just stop struggling all the time?” Then reminds him, “You wanted this, you can't say you didn't want this and now you're rejecting it."
Marketa decides that she wants to go her own way, form her own opinions about life and for “that to be okay.”The end of their romantic dream fuels more songs.
Daring to dream takes courage. Courage isn't about wholeness, it's about desire. We have to want to line up for our ball. It's not about being ready. Following our dreams and reaching success also has it's pain but if we don't decide our dreams are important enough, they will fester in us, die with us and burden others.
Each and everyone of us knows where our dreams live. Daring to dream is daring to live.
“Fair Play To Those Who Dare To Dream”
Other Blog Posts by Regina: My Train has Come, My Cat Knows What She Wants, I Am Human, Surprise!, In Love with Me, We Can Become One, I'm Over That, The Wild Woman of Zumba, The Attitude of Success, Come In, My Love Plant, My Tears, The Room of the Past, Lady Bugs are Lucky, Welcome Home, Shattering Beliefs
Regina Eustace is a contributing author to the books Divine Inspirations - Stories of Awakening and Empowerment by Everyday Lightworkers and The Gratitude Project - Celebrating 365 Days of Gratitude
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