I am a Dreamer...

You and I sang with the harmony of stars

in their dying moments, who look down

on the past and see the future

no less beautiful.

-Finn Butler

I find that people are often afraid to dream. As a child we spend countless hours asking the sun who we should be and never once do we reach the same conclusion. We are not afraid to name the creatures of the sea or draw the colors of the evening sky. When people ask what we want to be, our faces light up with the possibilities because no one has ever told us that we cannot. We don't know the definition of failure and we are infinite in our ability to dream. As you age, you slowly let go of things you use to dream of. Sometimes we let go because we simply change our mind. The worst is when we let go because we convince ourselves that our dream is unattainable. 

For this, I have two questions. 

1. Are dreams the same as goals? Are dreams made up of attainable things that are built on logic and sensibility?

2. Is there ever any harm in a dream?

My opinion is that dreams are vital to the human spirit. The act of dreaming is such an incredible experience. In a dream you can explore questions that your conscious mind is afraid of. Who are we? What is our purpose? What do i want out of life? In dreams we can figure out what we would truly do if life was without restraints. If nothing was stopping you, where would you go? Who would you go with? What would you accomplish? If all there was in the World was for you to seek out pure, unadulterated joy, what would that look like? These are the things that help us to grow. These are journeys in learning and loving ourselves. 

Holding onto dreams is possibly the most rewarding thing you can do. To say "I have a dream" is to say "I am limitless." A dream is the manifestation of you looking forward to something that people have told you is unattainable.  A dream is incapable of being bludgeoned or torn down. A dream is like a crystal ball into the future. A dream is something that is completely yours and yours alone. It was born of your desire and it grows from your fearlessness. Every time you say "Yes I can" your dream gets bigger. Every time you smile in the face of someone who has put you down, your dream gets bigger. Every time you get the courage to try something new, your dream gets bigger. 

To dream is to let go. Step away from the things in your life you cannot control. Step away from your fears, your failures, your past. Stretch your arms out to the future and ask yourself "What do you think is up there? What's ahead?" Don't be scared of what you find. Chances are you are going to figure out that your dream is the complete opposite of what you have. That's scary, I know. One thing that's nice about dreams is that you have to choose to follow them. They float about patiently, hoping you will take them along for the ride. 

Don't be ashamed of your dreams. People have goals, people have milestones, and people have dreams. Let yourself feel a little ridiculous. When people are going round robin about losing 10 pounds or moving to the country, take a big breath and let them hear it. You want to set your feet on every beach in North America. You want to see where your ancestors came from. You want to be the best MMA fighter people have ever seen. Just close your eyes and blurt it out. It's your dream. It's the heart and soul of the passion inside you and it is so beautiful. People, I think, reach a point where they believe dreaming is silly. They think that there's no use in conjuring up things they'll never do. They get older and they become experts at saying no. They become the king of can'ts, won'ts, and shouldn'ts. That's the easy road, I suppose. But if that's true, I dare you to take the hard one.