Whether it's my good fortune or misfortune, I am one of the dreamers. I follow in the footsteps of my grandfather before me who was a classic dreamer. A man who dreamed and laughed and lived fully.
Not long ago I was having a discussion with a dear friend who is blessed by the same dreamer tendency and I casually mentioned something that has truly etched itself into the very core of my being. I am not done being great.
This comment is in no way meant to be narcissitic. I don't think I am better than anyone else or deserve anything more than my neighbour. I am simply a person who continually strives to learn, to see, to do. To think that I have done it all would be premature. To deny myself the time to dream about what next would result in a whole world of experience that would be lost to me. So I am not done.
I know this because I am forever reaching; forever pushing; forever doing. I need to satisfy the constant hunger inside of me to evolve. I need my life to be fluid. What I can't explain is what this hunger feels like. Is it excitement? Anticipation? Wonderment or expectation? It's a fire inside the pit of my stomach with everything rolled into one bundle of "what ifs" that drives me.
Dreamer can hold some negative connotation. Dreamers are lazy. Dreamers can't focus. Dreams are just dreams. But what if we lived in a world void of dreamers? There would have been no Leonardo DaVinci, no Martin Luther King Jr., no John Lennon, no Walt Disney. The key is in my comment I made to my friend.
I am not DONE being great.
I can dream all I want. I can feel all the tingle of anticipation of what's to come. But I need to DO. Some people feel that dreamers don't do but I think not all doers are dreamers. Dreamers, the ones that make a difference, are the quintessential doers. It's the passion in these dreamers that catapults them into doing. If DaVinci didn't have passion, we wouldn't have the Mona Lisa. If MLK didn't have a dream, where would the world be today?
There will always be those non-dreamers feel compelled to inject a dose of "reality" into our dreams. It is something I face often. "You will never be famous writing. The market is too competitive", "You won't like to live in Europe. Vacationing is one thing, living there is another" "True love doesn't exist". And these are the simple dreams. Imagine if I shared the more complex ones?! I'd never hear the end of "but I'm only looking out for your best interests". My reality incorporates my dreams, it doesn't work against them. Of course, some don't always work out the way I want but it doesn't deter me from creating space in my mind where anything is possible.
So in the immortal words of John Lennon "you may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one" and I'd rather live my life with dreams than not.
Talk to me...If you can dream it, you can do it. What is the dream that moves your forward daily?
They say that people who have no dreams have no life , no future, Dreams are not just wanting an expensive car or a a dream house on the beach, or never having to work a day in your life.People constantly dream and may i say very simple things...." I would like to have a freddo cappuccino on the beach ", well that is a simple dream and easily gotten ( if you live close to a beach ). Dreams are also when you say, I would like to do something and then you do it, well that dream came true! If people did not have dreams, we would not be where we are today, we would not be born and if those 2 people, my parents, did not dream of getting married and having children, i would not be here writing about dreams.....
ReplyDeleteDreams, aspirations, hopes, desires...all what make the world go around...thanks for commenting!
DeleteThat is a good question. My dream probably has to do with being heard and I do a lot of things to move toward that. #bloppies
ReplyDeleteBeing heard, having a voice is fundamentally important. I like your dream, very much. Having people hear what you say instead of just listening is impactful.
DeleteI think it's really in our own hands - what we want to become. It's a wonderful thing being a dreamer, especially when you also have the passion to make your dreams come true.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree! We can't wait for something to happen, we have to make it happen!
DeleteI am in two minds over being a dreamer. I don't know if I am one, not really, because my dreams tend to be tempered with pragmatism and a strong desire to NOT put too much effort in. That said, I do consider things a lot, so I still live in my head.
ReplyDeleteThinking about it, I don't really know that I have any dreams. Not any more. Is that sad? I kinda feel sad thinking about it, but I'm planning (pragmatist) to come to America and visit with my bloggy friends, which is going to be ten kinds of wonderful. But other than that...
I have a job which pays well, which I enjoy, and I have no ambition to turn it into a career. It gives me time to blog and write poetry and work on a book which I expect to go nowhere, really - I just hope to enjoy writing it.
Your dreams are admirable, and that you're willing to adapt and change with them as time goes by. That's nice :)
Lizzi, I think you are a dreamer. I read your words and feel them through your writing. All your considerings, all your thoughts, they make up your world and you share them with others. And your dream of meeting all your bloggy friends in America is awesome! But don't forget to pop into Canada for a bit too :)
DeleteI'm very much the dreamer---always have been. And after many, MANY years, I'm making my dream come true by getting my book published! Yes, dreams really do come true, if you work for them!
ReplyDeleteThat is AWESOME!!!!! I think the key here is YOU HAVE TO WORK FOR THEM! Can't wait to read your book!
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