The Total Person

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Nothing comes to sleepers but a dream?”  There is a big difference between a sleeper and a dreamer.  When you sleep, you are idle, doing nothing but resting.  The dreams that come to sleepers are a series of thoughts, images and emotions.  However, the dreams that come to dreamers, not sleepers, are made up of goals, visions and ideas for something longed for. They have a purpose for the attainment of yearnings and desires.  Dreamers not only seek things that exist; they also seek things that are not yet material. They are able to see things that are invisible to everyone else.  They realize that it is there, and are motivated to go after it.  Sleepers dream of the world they would like to live in, while Dreamers live in the world they dreamed of.

People are motivated by their dreams.  When you have a dream, you have a reason.  A person may never have or do anything worthwhile, without a dream.  We grow by our dreams.  What does it mean to grow from a dream?  To obtain or accomplish something may require you to go above and beyond your usual pursuits.  It forces you to excel through your efforts to try harder.  This in turn causes you to grow and improve.  That is how dreams come true. 

But, how can a dream come true, if you do not have one?  To not have one is a nightmare in itself.  Now that is a scary thought.  As the expression goes, “you snooze, you lose”.  What you lose are opportunities.  Dreams are worth working for.  People who are awake and aware recognize opportunities when they come.  These are the people with opened minds and opened eyes.  People with closed eyes do not make things happen; people with open eyes do.  If you do not dream, you might as well be sleeping. 

Anything is possible if you dream that it is.  I read that Walt Disney wanted to become a cartoonist.  His dreams led him to pioneer the art of animated cartoon films, as well as design and promote world-famous amusement theme parks.  People may have thought that Walt had a childish dream.  In a way he did.  His dreams have brought out the kid in many of us.  “If you can dream it, you can do it.  Always remember that this whole thing was started by a mouse.” -Walt Disney.

We have all had dreams at one time or another.  Remember being asked as a kid, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  With enthusiasm you probably said something like, “ I want to be a doctor, a lawyer or a teacher.” When we are children, our dreams come and go.  That is because children have such vivid imaginations.  They believe anything is possible, and they have a right to think so.  When I was a kid, I believed I could be or do anything.  Then I began to grow up.  What does that have to do with anything?  I let other people steal my dreams.  They started telling me I could not do what I said I would do.  And I believed them.  It happens to all of us.  Adults may say that something cannot be done.  Kids, on the other hand, do not know that it cannot be done, so they do it anyway.

When people steal your dream, it dies.  However, just because a dream dies does not mean that it has to remain dead.  You can breathe life back into your dream.  It can be reborn.  When they are revived, they come back better than before.  I took back my stolen dreams, and I refuse to let them go again!

I always wanted to make people laugh and be happy.  I had an imagination that kept me smiling.  Whenever situations had me feeling down, my imagination would kick in to save me.  My dream was to touch people in a way to help them escape their troubles and learn to enjoy life.

Early in life, I kept my dreams, my gift to myself.  I was an introvert, and I did not let anyone in.  Through my writings, whether stories, songs or poetry, I have now opened up and allowed people to taste my talents.  It is a wonderful feeling to replace a void with a smile.