What is a dream?

By Trudy Chiswell

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake. Dreams are the touchstones of our character”…..Henry David Thoreau

Do you have a dream? More education, better job, travel, start a business, or leave a bad situation? Do you feel life has passed you by and it is too late for you? You are too old? I want to assure you today that it is never too late to dream a dream and accomplish it no matter how old you are. 

Perhaps you think it will take too long. So what! Step by step, inch by inch you can achieve anything you set your mind to. Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” If you never start out on a journey, you will never move from where you are now. But if you get to the end of the block, you are further along than you were yesterday. It matters not how long it takes; the process is what matters. So, what is stopping you?

My trigger was that first nightschool class and seeing the possibility. I never dreamed then that I would be where I am at 70. The analogy I use for my life is a sail boat. If I stay tied up to the dock, I will go nowhere. If I cast off from the dock in my sail boat and raise my sails, the wind can fill my sails. If I am heading in the wrong direction, the wind can change my direction. But only if I cast off from the dock. Our lives are similar.

A dream can be something as unreal as the fantasies of sleep, or it can be the motivator from which truly great things are done. Webster’s Thesaurus defines a dream as “to long, crave, hunger or thirst.” It says a dreamer is “a person whose conduct is guided more by ideals than practicalities.” I believe there is a little bit of dreamer in each of us. The difference is whether we allow our dreams to take form.

One thing that helped me to let my dreams take form was to make a collage of what I thought my life would look like at a certain point in time. It started when I had a depression and created my first collage to pull myself out of it by appreciating the positive things in my life. Since then I have done two more collages. One for what self-employment would look like and one for what retirement would look like. They hung on my walls for many years. Looking back on them now I am amazed to see that I have accomplished most of what I had on my story boards. Each picture represented a specific thing I wanted in my life.

Dreams, as opposed to fantasies, are the real fabric of our humanity. Explorers, scientists and inventors all used dreams to their advantage.

How do you turn a dream into reality?

Focus

The first step is to distinguish the difference between a dream and a fantasy. What may be fantasy to one with great determination may be an attainable goal to another. How determined are you? Only you can answer this.

Aim at Something

Dreams are essential to life! If you don’t have a dream, then you aim at nothing. If you aim at nothing, you will hit your mark every time. You become a victim of life, shifting with every wave of adversity. But, if in aiming at a dream, you hit below the mark, at least you have achieved more than you would have when aiming at nothing. So, what have you got to lose? Nothing!

Visualize

Focus on the goal at the end and rip up a magazine to show pictures of what you are trying to achieve. After all, isn’t that what an architect does when planning a new building? With each picture you pick, you are picking what you want in your life in the future.

Action plan

Write down a step-by-step list of what you need to do to start moving toward your dream. Do you need to find out if your Board of Education offers Adult Learner Programs? In my country upgrading to a Grade 12 diploma was free. After all, you have been paying your taxes for education. Maybe it is post-secondary you want. Research your local colleges to see what courses are offered that interest you. Some employers will give you time off on half days to upgrade your education or even pay for you upgrading your skills. It will benefit their company if you have more skills. Be single minded in short-term steps toward your goal. 

Share your plan

Share your plan with someone who cares about you. Our dreams come from the tender part of our heart and we need the help of a trusted friend to connect our heart to our brain with practicality. Mind you, I said trusted! Some very well-meaning prudes in this world have been known to crush a dream that had the potential of true genius. My husband’s favourite joke when I was going to school was, “Behind every successful wife, is a pushy husband.” A true friend!

Faith and courage

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1 

Dreams can get you through difficult times in life, because you always have hope of a better tomorrow. With faith and courage you can realize your dream. Faith is like a parent’s kind hand under you as you learn to swim. They said that you would swim if you trusted. So you did trust even though you couldn’t see the hand supporting you. You had faith in your parent. You may not know how you will realize your dream, but you know that each little step will get you closer to it.

Persevere

Dreams we develop into goals cause us to stretch and grow. Dreams have built nations, invented spectacular spacecraft and written beautiful poetry. The path may not always be smooth, but never give up on your dreams. Re-adjust and strive on! Sometimes, I wanted to pull the blankets over my head and shout, “Stop the world. I want to get off.” Thankfully the feelings didn’t last long and life went on. I just kept trudging along!

Dreams are for everyone. To stop dreaming is like trying to stop participating in life.

I want to challenge you to write down your dream and the steps to make it happen. Grasp your dream, no matter how old you are and you will feel the power of self-achievement. Enjoy the adventure!

What are your dreams? Where are you going? Who are you going to be? Make a plan and take the first step into your future!