Children dream all the time; teenager’s day dream a lot and by the time we are adult our generation and those before us were encouraged to put away childish thoughts and work hard! Well my ethos couldn’t be more opposite: I think we should all dream big every day, we should encourage dreaming in the young and old, the benefits are measurable. Especially noted in the young in whom we can so easily sow seeds of aspirations to achieve dreams and believe anything is possible. Sometimes with age the conversation can so easily be centred around illness and loss, if we can alter the way we think about our time alive as more of a continuous adventure of discovery, people may believe there is more to live for and enjoyment is sure to be around the corner. In this day and age anything is possible and optimism improves health and well-being for all ages.
A dream doesn’t have to be big as in, I want to be a millionaire, it just needs to make you happy. For example, part of my dream is to live and work each year for a few months in a modern house that has lovely big walls for art! It has a pool and a walk way down to the beach cove that is of course stunning, in a lovely warm climate. Years ago, I would have said I wanted to own it and whilst that would be nice, I’m not hung up on possessing any longer, it’s more the joy of being there, so however it comes about is fine, I just allow myself to dream and visualise that part of my dream in full HD colour, I can feel the sun and breeze as we speak!
When I worked 9-5 or 7 until I’d finished! my dream became very serious. It was all about providing for my family and our retirement so that we were not a burden on our children and could still take holidays to enjoy our free time. That doesn’t sound very dream like to me now. I was caught up in the world of, must, should haves and work hard to achieve and I did just that. Now however I am more relaxed, enjoying going with the flow of life and reminding myself of all the inspirational books I have read about ordinary people doing extraordinary things just because they had a mind to, and why not, we are only here like this once.
It doesn’t have to be extraordinary though, it just has to be yours.
I used to plan because planning gave a feeling of security but it also gave an unbreakable and relentless routine that became a trap that if you are not careful, squeezes out spontaneity and freedom. I have opted for the opposite to that and am taking steps every day to ensure I continue to achieve my dreams and then dare to dream up some more… coming with me? I would love to hear about your dreams too, let me know…