Let me start by saying that I have a great life. I really do. I have a nice home, a wonderful family and I’m healthy. However, with that said, I also have a lot of dreams about things I’d like to change or add to my life. Admittedly, I probably dream a little too much, but asking a dreamer not to dream is like telling a pianist he can no longer play the piano. It’s in our blood. It’s who we are. It’s what we do.
Anyway, I often share my dreams with friends and family, but what always astounds me is what happens when I turn the question around and ask, “What are YOUR dreams?” I asked my husband this very question the other day. “Honey, if you could have any life you wanted, what would it look like?” Of course, first I warned him that it had to include me and not some 25-year old bimbo, which led to a very long, and uncomfortable pause.
“I dunno.”
“Oh c’mon, what do you mean you don’t know?”
“Well, I’ve never really thought about it.”
“What do you mean you never really thought about it? You mean, you’ve never really dreamed?”
“Well, maybe I have, but I don’t really remember what they were.”
“Are you kidding me? Wow. How did we end up together again?”
So I started asking my friends the same question and was getting similar responses. What was going on? Here I thought dreaming was like chocolate. Everybody loves chocolate; doesn’t everybody love to dream? Apparently not.
Then I asked my kids. “I dream about being an only child by elimination or default” was my eldest son’s response. Well, it was an honest answer, but….So I asked my younger son. “I dream about shape-shifting into anything I want even if it’s totally made up.” OK. Well, although their dreams weren’t exactly realistic, at least they had them.
So, that made me wonder. Why don’t some adults dream? Are they just so happy with their lives they don’t feel the need to dream or is it the opposite? That they’ve kind of given up and are just “going through the motions” until they die. Yikes! Now that’s a scary thought. I sure hope that’s not the case.
Here are some of the things I dream about.
I dream about moving to a warmer climate. Although Groton is a beautiful town, after 45 years of living in the Northeast, my love and tolerance of the cold and snow has gone from, “Isn’t it pretty?” to “Can somebody check? I think my toes and fingers just fell off.”
I dream about building a post and beam home someday. It doesn’t have to be a big home. Just a very functional, aesthetically pleasing home with character. Chalk this up to mass construction of new homes. What ever happened to craftsmanship and creativity? If you ever follow the real estate pages, you’ll notice all the houses around here start to look alike after awhile. Boring!
And lastly, I dream about going on a mission trip to a third world country and helping the people who live there. If I could do that, then I would feel like I’ve really accomplished something meaningful.
Some of these things I know I can start working on now, and you can too. But first, you must dare to dream. So, grab a pen and paper and start writing. Oh yeah, and don’t forget the chocolates.
