On Dreams

(an adaptation of an entry from my Scrapbook Journal project)

A smattering of dreams -- past and present:
Occupation: Famous singer. Live in NYC. Ride a train through Europe. Win an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Be credited with positively restructuring our education system.

Dreams give us wings, enabling us to define our desires and passions--and, thus, ourselves. I believe few of life's acheivements or failures (and their subsequent lessons and experiences) come about without dreams tied to them...

So I was surprised one day when I realized that my life, while pleasant enough, was FLAT. I looked around and found a missing link: I HAD NO DREAMS--nothing to propel me forward. I was living my days simply as they came at me and not molding them into what I might want them or my life to be like. Dreams were simply memories of my youth when I still believed I could be whoever, whenever.

How wrong I was. For dreaming has a way of finding you if you keep your mind open long enough (truthfully, it doesn't entail keeping your mind open very long). And it quickly found me again.

Now, I'm still reformulating some of my old dreams--and finding new ones: i.e. I haven't yet realized my dreams--but I'm there, exploring the sparks and following to see where they lead. AND I know that the fruits of a dream are of the maker--at whatever age--and with a little effort I can be whoever, whenever.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. In the long run, we really do shape our own lives; and then together we shape the world around us. The process never ends until we die." - Eleanor Roosevelt