Our dreams are not born in a vacuum, they are intricately woven from the threads of our lived experiences, the places we’ve explored, the people we’ve met, and the horizons, whether by fortune or circumstance, we’ve been privileged or challenged to encounter. The profound truth captured in the saying, "We only dream as big as our exposure, for what we see shapes what we believe is possible," reveals the undeniable link between our environment and the ambitions we dare to imagine. This realization has shaped my life’s philosophy, leading me to prioritize experiences over material possessions. Nothing expands the mind, heart, and soul quite like stepping into new corners of the world, engaging with diverse perspectives, and broadening the lens through which we view existence.
A Journey Beyond the Guidebook
Take, for example, my transformative journey to Cape Town. This was no ordinary tourist trip, filled with predictable itineraries and crowded landmarks. Instead, I sought out the roads less traveled, hidden neighborhoods, quiet coastal paths, and overlooked corners that rarely appear in travel brochures. Each twist of the road unveiled a new marvel, a sweeping vista of mountains cradling the ocean, a vibrant street market buzzing with people from all walks of life, or a tucked-away alley adorned with colorful murals. I was captivated, my head swiveling left and right, as if I were a child witnessing the world in full color for the first time.
This wasn’t mere sightseeing, it was sight-expanding. Each breathtaking panorama and each unassuming street corner served as a vivid reminder of the world’s vastness and beauty. These moments challenged my preconceived notions of what life could look like, pushing me to step beyond the comfort of routine and familiarity. They taught me that the world is far grander than the small slice I had known, and in that grandeur lies the potential to reimagine what is possible for myself and others.
The Limits of a Narrow Lens
Reflecting on my childhood, I see how profoundly limited exposure shaped my early understanding of dreams and aspirations. Growing up in a small community, my window to the world was confined to a handful of television channels, primarily SABC 1 and 2. These channels paraded a narrow set of career archetypes: teachers, police officers, lawyers, and the occasional doctor. These roles, dramatized in soap operas and local shows, became the default models of success and purpose in my young mind. Not because they resonated deeply with me, but because they were the only examples I saw. They were the tangible, “reachable” paths, reinforced by repetition in the media I consumed.
As a child, the very concept of a “dream” was foreign to me. When asked, “What’s your dream?” I thought the question referred to nightmares, the unsettling visions that haunted my sleep. The idea that a dream could represent a vision of ambition, purpose, or potential was unimaginable because I had never been exposed to such a framework. It wasn’t until my family moved to a more urban area, where access to new ideas, people, and opportunities expanded, that my horizons began to shift. Suddenly, questions like “What do you want to be when you grow up?” sparked visions of possibilities far beyond the familiar faces on my TV screen. Engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs, these roles, once invisible, became part of my imagination’s vocabulary. My dreams grew because my exposure did.
Passion: Discovered, Not Destined
This reflection leads me to question the concept of passion, a word often wielded as the cornerstone of purpose and success. We’re told to “find our passion” as if it’s a singular, predestined truth waiting to be uncovered. But how can someone identify their passion if their world is limited to one perspective, one community, or one way of life? For many, the pursuit of passion feels like chasing a mirage, elusive and unattainable, because their exposure has been too narrow to reveal what truly sets their soul alight.
I’ve come to believe that passion is not always innate, nor is it something that is handed down by fate. Instead, it is cultivated through exposure, through the act of trying new things, visiting unfamiliar places, and engaging with people whose lives differ vastly from our own. Passion emerges from the collision of curiosity and opportunity, from the moments when we encounter something that stirs us in ways we didn’t expect. A single trip, a conversation with a stranger, or an unexpected experience can ignite a spark that reshapes our sense of purpose. Without exposure, we risk confining our passions to the familiar, molding our dreams around what feels “safe” or “reachable” rather than what truly inspires us.
The Cost of Confinement
The consequences of limited exposure are profound. Without access to new ideas, cultures, or possibilities, people are tethered to the boundaries of their immediate surroundings. Their dreams, aspirations, and sense of opportunity are shaped by what they know, and what they know is often dictated by circumstance. I often wonder how many brilliant minds have crafted their futures around what feels attainable, not because it’s what they truly desire, but because it’s all they’ve been shown. How many artists, innovators, or leaders remain undiscovered, not for lack of potential, but for lack of exposure to the possibilities that could unlock their greatness?
This is why I advocate so passionately for travel, exploration, and diversity of experiences. It’s not about extravagance or leisure, though those can be delightful byproducts. It’s about growth, about stretching the boundaries of what we believe is possible. Every journey I’ve taken, every new culture I’ve immersed myself in, and every unfamiliar setting I’ve stepped into has reshaped my worldview and expanded my sense of what I can achieve. Exposure is transformational. It’s not just about gaining knowledge or appreciating beauty, it’s about permitting ourselves to dream bigger, to challenge the limits we’ve inherited, and to recognize that what once seemed unreachable is often just a few steps beyond our current vantage point.
The Blueprint of Dreams
In the end, our dreams are blueprints, designs drafted in the quiet of our minds, built from the materials we’ve gathered through our experiences. A person who has only known one landscape may dream in muted tones, their aspirations constrained by the familiar. But someone who has wandered through a thousand landscapes, who has witnessed the kaleidoscope of human stories and the vastness of the world, will dream in vivid, boundless color.
We owe it to ourselves to seek out more, to explore, to see, to stretch our boundaries. Each new experience is a thread in the fabric of our dreams, adding depth, color, and possibility to the lives we envision. By embracing exposure, we don’t just expand our horizons, we redefine the scale of our ambitions, allowing ourselves to dream at the size of the world we’ve dared to discover.
With gratitude,
Khanya.
In case You Missed It
Shattering the Silence: Confronting Men’s Mental Health Challenges in South Africa
South Africa’s men and boys are grappling with a silent mental health crisis, one fueled by deeply ingrained cultural norms that equate masculinity with stoicism and emotional suppression. The expectation to “man up” and hide vulnerability drives alarming rates of suicide, substance abuse, and gender-based violence (G…
If you’re enjoying the newsletter, please share it with a friend or on social media. Your support means the world!