Are you getting closer to your dreams after reading last week’s column? My “beautiful dreamer” friends are already there. They live ethereal, Bohemian lives that keep them above the fray and into their arts. I must admit, I envy them just a little. I’ve talked with others who are definitely beginning to think about the possibility of having and pursuing dreams. Then there are those who are still baffled about all this energy and time wasted on something that doesn’t exist “on paper”.

I don’t usually write a “follow-up” to an article. I felt like this subject might warrant an exception. I understand for some, dreams compare with that memory from when they were five – the diving board hovering high above the big, deep scary swimming pool. For others, dreams are what they had before the big goals attached to those dreams crashed to the ground in flames. But dreams don’t have to be evaluated through the lenses of fear or failure. The huge ones don’t have to be avoided just because of their vast scope. Sainted Pope John XXIII’s quote bears repeating “Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” Anyone remember the Frank Sinatra song “High Hopes”?

Yeah, working on a dream can be tough work – just ask Bruce Springsteen. But, if you never work on it, you’ll never achieve it. If you never move toward your dream, you won’t get any closer than you are right now. It’s like getting in your car, sitting there for a few minutes and then getting back out, frustrated that you didn’t arrive at your desired destination. A lot of us are watching the NHL playoffs right now. I’m amazed by the tenacity and focus of the goalies. In a perfect four periods, these guys block an average of 30 shots with no goals. The losing goalie can be just one less than “perfect”. During practice, goalies are “attacked” by a couple dozen guys firing literally hundreds of shots on goal over several hours. What’s the pay-off for this commitment? Glory in victory – or they can be mocked by fans and the press if they allow one goal at the wrong moment. Do they quit? No. This is who they are – it’s their dream.

Sometimes, trying to explain our dreams is like a fairy trying to explain to a mushroom what it’s like to be a fairy. My daughter & I like to watch Disney’s “Tinker Bell” movie. Tinker Bell has a talent for making and fixing things. It’s understood that ‘Tinker Fairies” stay at Pixie Hollow on the island of Never Land and work in the shop. However, Tinker Bell, or “Tink” as her friends call her, learns that the fairies with nature-talents get to go to the mainland and usher in the seasons. Thus begins her dream of going to the mainland. The other fairies don’t understand Tink, and even resent her dreams and talents. However, eventually Tink’s dream is fulfilled and she is allowed to go to the mainland all because she persisted in dreaming and practicing her talent….so cue the Aerosmith song “Dream On” and dream until your dreams come true!

© 2014 Curt Savage Media

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