We All Need Dreams
and We Need to Believe They Can Come True
What happens to dreams as we get older? As a very young child, we have difficulty
distinguishing reality from fantasy. With each year of maturity and education,
we learn what is real and what is not.
We also learn that we have the ability to make dreams come true.
Teenagers are at that enviable cusp in life where they know
enough about the real world to be cautious, but (one hopes) have not yet
experienced repeated rejections. That is why teenagers have so much energy for
change and many believe they can do anything, become anything they want.
Somewhere in adulthood that energy and that belief changes
for many people. We have all kinds of things to blame, and the list is long:
responsibilities, health, jobs that bring in money but leave little time for
other things, betrayals from friends or family, death. The saddest thing some adults lose is faith—faith
in God, faith in the innate goodness of people, faith in themselves to rise
above their circumstances. That is when dreams die.
What makes the
difference between a person who continues to pursue her dreams and a person who
gives up? What makes the difference between a person who remains positive
despite numerous negative things in her life? What makes the difference between
a person who, at the end of her life, greets death by saying: “It was a good
life. I have no regrets.” Versus the person who says: “If only I had…” I
believe the answer to each of these questions is faith and dreams.
In my second post, I’ll follow up on this by talking about
how dreams still live if you accept changes in the details. Psychologists call
this reframing. I call it faith—belief—that we each have a choice in how we
approach every challenge and how we pursue our dreams to make them a reality.
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About Maggie Jaimeson
My educational and career background is in psychology, counseling, computer
science, and education. Somehow I found a way to satisfy both my left
and right brain and fashioned a career over the past 30+ years that could do that. I am fortunate to now spend the majority of my time journeying into
the world of my imagination and writing novels that reflect my passions
and my belief that strong women can do anything, that the good guys win
in the end, and that love will conquer all.
6 comments:
I am getting older and I still dream but I have revised them to different things. I do things now that satisfy only me I think
debby236 at gmail dot com
WELL...I literally dream while asleep, but I really wasn't ever a life dreamer. I set goals. I achieve them. I have an occasional thing on my wish list...but I call them dreams.
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Debby and Catherine, Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad to know there are some dreamers out there still.
Debby, I'm interested in what types of things you do now that satisfy only you. I need to do more of that.
Catherine, do you remember your dreams when you wake up? If so, do they make a difference in your day?
Maggie,
I have always been a dreamer, but since I really started trying to turn them into reality (publish my romances) I've had to constantly reframe my idea of what will make me feel successful. Thanks for putting it into words so succinctly.
And it's true--I have a hard time now with others who complain about how they wish something would happen when it's clear they're not doing anything to make that happen. It's hard work making dreams come true, dammit. Own your dreams, and then work your ass off--only way it's going to happen.
Do I still catch myself whining instead of doing? Oh, yeah. But working on that, lol.
best,
Cathryn
http://www.cathryncade.com
Cathryn, Thanks for stopping by. With every book you publish I fall more in love with your writing.
I hear you on reframing what feels like success. When I worked as a counselor with families who had severely disabled children, I remember always talking about celebrating EVERY small success. Because the small ones will lead to larger ones. You are right, it is hard work. But so, so worth it.
Maggie,
I'm going right over to read part two.
I love what you said about some people losing faith while others continue to find contentment and joy until the end of their lives.
I didn't go back to school to get my undergraduate and the Master's degree until I was 46. I'm 51 and my first novel won't be released until April. I plan on having a lot more "firsts" before I make my way heavenward.
Collette
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