I do not dream at night. I’ve heard it said by smug psychology professors in their brown corduroy jackets with leather elbow patches that we all dream. Supposedly it is an every night occurrence. I’ve heard it said that it isn’t a question of whether we dream or not, but rather, if we actually remember them the next day. My wife is always telling me about her dreams. Crazy dreams. Dreams consisting of our 60-pound basset hound mutating into a pre-pubescent Hawaiian child whom she drives across the continental U.S. They make random stops so she can enter him into hot dog eating contests, which he of course destroys the would-be competition. Always the well-mannered sportsman, he promptly hoists up his gold plated hot dog trophy and sings an impromptu victory song, consisting of lyrics pointing out minute character flaws in the other contestants, aiding to their deep seeded complexes about their freckles and acne.
These dreams are fun. You can’t wait till your spouse wakes up so you can tell them of your adventures. You rehearse your story in the shower, careful not to forget one farfetched detail till you see someone to share your tall tales to. As mentioned before, these dreams are fun, but that is all they are: fun. They aren’t real.
Our real dreams are altogether a different story. They aren’t always “fun” because real dreams and ambitions will always cost us something, our safety net. Don’t get me wrong. If your dream is to grow up and be an accountant, you aren’t really looking at a high-risk situation, unless you’re terrible at math. I’m not talking about these people. I’m talking about the artist, the writer, and the person who doesn’t fit into the nine to five, suit-and-tie society. For these people the risk doesn’t always outweigh the reward, but isn’t that what makes life interesting? There is no formula to living life; that would be too easy. Sadly, it is much easier to sell your soul to a mindless job for 30 years than it is to quit and set out on the path that leads to your dream. Why is this? If dreams didn’t cost us something, if they didn’t come with risk, then our eulogies would be terribly boring. A life without risk is a life not lived.
“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.” —Leo F. Buscaglia.
The play list this was written to consisted of “Newborn History” by the Damnwells, “Dream” by Priscilla Ahn, “Guaranteed” by Eddie Vedder, and “Imagine” by John Lennon
Most people aren't brave enough take risks, which is why most people have lives and careers that are just okay. Very rarely do you find someone who's passionate about what they do. I can think of only a few, probably less than 5.
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