What Are Your Dreams?

Most of us have dreams. You might have dreamt last night. Do you remember what you dreamed about? How vivid was it?  Was it a nightmare? Was it a dream come true? Scientists say that we cannot dream and snore at the same time. But the kind of dreams I am talking about aren’t the kind that come when you are asleep. They are the kind that occur during every waking hour. It’s all we can think about. Whenever we find time alone, it’s all we ponder over. Sometimes our dreams take the better of us by ensuring that we 

build castles in the air.

Many works of art have had their beginning in a dream. A dream that was so real that the dreamer thought it possible to make it come true. Every dream comes true sometimes. It is also a passionate thing to dream. Your passion is involved. Passion is created when liking becomes loving. And loving’s epitome is passion. Passion is a force so strong that it can move mountains. Passion makes dreams come true. Without passion then your dream is invalid. Where there is passion there your dream will be also. Think about it. If you ask a five-year-old child what she wants to be when she grows up, you will be surprised, sometimes even shocked. Her response will be as a result of her passion towards the perception she has of that career. A young girl by the name Naomi was once asked by her father what she wanted to be when all grown up. She passionately said, “Shopkeeper!” Her father was shocked at the mediocrity of choice for a career. Her father interjected: “You will be a doctor, you hear me?”

Let’s leave Naomi behind for a moment. Dreams can and are established when we are young. Not to say that we are slaves to what our childish dreams were. They are not cast in stone. They change over time. As we grow older and wiser and are exposed to more than our immediate surroundings, we change our dreams. We start liking different things. Our associates change. Our habits change. We slowly but steadily become different people. And what we once viewed as a priority ceases to be such. In addition, our dreams are greatly molded by our surroundings, circumstances, perceptions and caregivers. Revisiting our short story about Naomi, her parent was in control of her dream. At such a tender age, her unbiased perception of the world became warped. She realized that shopkeepers are not people who would be respected in society. Conversely, she realized that doctors are viewed as ‘gods’. Contrary to her original dream of owning a successful kiosk, she graduated at the top of her class in medical school. She is now a renowned doctor. The question is: Did Naomi’s dreams come true? That’s debatable. 

Our society has deluded posterity that there are careers that are unworthy of consideration. This has led to the influx of college graduates in very few fields of study. If the academic system in Kenya is anything to go by, we see that there are subjects that take the cake in terms of time allocation. Mathematics and English are taught every day. Option subjects are allocated few hours each week. There is clearly a major problem here. We all go through the same curriculum regardless of our abilities and if we fail we are labeled as academically deficient. We are all different. That’s why the best footballer in the world would not also be the best accountant. I believe that core subjects like mathematics and languages should be taught. But other unnecessary subjects should be omitted or left as options. Just like a buffet has different types of starch displayed for people to choose from, so should subjects taught in school be (apparently I split my infinitives). There are some who prefer rice to mashed potatoes or vice versa. And that’s why there are numerous options. 

Do you know anyone who has gone through heavy plastic surgery to alter their appearance? Why did they do it? Was it their dream? That depends on something as important as a personal pronoun. We start analyzing by asking, “Whose dream was it ultimately?” If the said person who underwent the plastic surgery did so as a realization of their own dream i.e. to look better and have higher self-esteem, well and good. However, if it was for the sake of someone else i.e. others will appreciate them for their grand transformation, then that is disastrous. The lovely Colbie Caillat in her song Try put it this way: “Put your makeup on so they’ll like you. You don’t have to try so hard…when you’re all alone by yourself do you like you?” When you do something to please someone, whose dreams are you making come true? Theirs of course! It is therefore safe to say that your dreams haven’t yet come true.    

To understand it better, think of a mother’s dreams. Her dreams are for her child to become prosperous in life i.e. get married, have kids, live happily ever after. Her dreams are not her own. They are intertwined with another independent dreamer’s dreams. Her son might want to live a life of devotion as a monk in the Himalayas. In this case the mother’s dreams are contingent on her son’s outcome in life. If for some reason her son indeed gets married, has kids and lives happily ever after, her dreams have come true.

In a nutshell, you may have dreams but those dreams are not your own. They belong to someone else. To be truly happy and satisfied with your life, you need to work towards realizing your dreams. In doing so, you will avoid a lot of heartache and pressures of life. Doing what you love and loving what you do is passionately living your dream. There is nothing bigger than a dream. File it under wishful thinking. Make a wish and believe it can come true. Then work towards it. Life is a journey, not a destination. Dreams make our lives bearable. They inculcate in us hope. Dream and dream more. And once you’re done with that, dream again until you can dream no more!