Focus on Dreams

It is funny how we can wrapped on one issue so much. We can lose focus so quickly on what is important in life. Well, at least I can. I used to use the excuse that I needed to focus on the realistic parts of my life and give up on my "unruly dreams."

What are dreams, if they are not dreamt?

And dreaming does not necessarily mean that one is losing focus on the reality of life. In fact, I would argue that dreaming is the reality of life. We use our dreams to set goals, escape from harsh realities, make connections, and understand this crazy world of ours. Some may say that this post is a product of my upbringing by the liberal hippies or yore, the previous generation that taught us to "do whatever we dared" and to "reach for the stars." I don't believe any of that crap. I think that takes the idea of motivation too far. It gives people a false sense of confidence and an expectation of great things, when in fact, great things are great things when they are unexpected. But I do understand the importance of valuing pure motivation through passion. Take my own life as an example.

I went to Messiah College to major in International Business, which I did. However, I planned on leaving Messiah finding a job with a consulting firm and making lots and lots of money, travel the world, and live abroad. A lot of that is certainly my passion still. Yet, I left college with a much different focus. I suddenly had unearthed a passion for the poor. Economic development was a new shift in focus. It certainly fit in with International Business, but was nothing I had ever dreamt of finding a desire to understand and work in. And now I have this grand dream that I will save people from poverty. I will help hundreds if not thousands in learning to bring themselves up on their own two feet. Will that happen? Not necessarily, and I don't imagine myself earning a Nobel Peace Prize anytime soon. I still have the dream, but my expectations are not some grandiose unrealistic hope. That is the difference. And so I haven't lost focus. I am focusing on what is important in my life: my passions and my dreams.

And if I keep that dream alive, with no expectations beyond a little hope, I can succeed. At what? I have no idea. I have no pretenses about my life. But that is how great things happen.