Many songs and movies have been made about having our dreams fulfilled. It is a common desire to live out our dreams, so much that many of us spend hours, days, even years in pursuit of a dream. Chasing your dream is not an easy path, which is likely the reason many dreams are given up on. Layers of resistance seem systematically designed to keep us from achieving them. That is why we must fight so hard to hold on, when we feel so much like letting go.
An interesting thing about dreams is that they often change relative to where we are in life. As a child, we may have wanted to be an astronaut. But when we got a little older, we realized that dream changed, especially if you’ve ever had a pair of eyeglasses. Part of being an astronaut is having 20/20 vision. Also, as much as I liked playing any sort of ball growing up, I knew I was not gifted enough in that area to pursue a career in professional sports. One by one all my childhood dreams disappeared out of sight. I already started working in a restaurant as a teenager but knew that was only going to suit me for so long.
In high school, they asked me if I liked being hands on. I did and ended up going to vocational school half the year and regular high school the other half. I learned carpentry and other skills that piqued my interest back then. There was more yet than what I imagined life had to offer. My teacher challenged me, and I grew. Eventually, I became a senior. Finishing out my vocational school required that I do an internship. I found employment working for a local contractor in the construction industry. I soon found out it was demanding work. I was only a laborer, so my pay was less than a carpenters’ pay would have been. I did decent work though and wanted more money, but it just wasn’t available.
Therefore, I switched to another industry altogether, running machinery. Not long after that, I went back to school again to become something else. What I am trying to say is that things will always change. In looking for our calling in life, we worry about making the right decision. Sometimes it blocks us from making any decision at all. However, in life it is usually not one decision. By taking a glimpse of my own history, it’s easy to see I have never been just one thing. If I would have waited to find out what I would be today, I doubt I would be who I am today.
Humans always change. It’s part of life. As such, our dreams will change too. Sometimes, it is for the worse and we no longer believe in our dreams. Hope must be reborn inside us to bring about change. But there are those still clinging tightly to their dreams, inspired to get more from life. Others may call you a dreamer. So what! Keep the dream alive by taking action daily to see it become a reality.