When I look back on my life I see that the best friends that have accompanied me since childhood have been my dreams. I do not mean the dreams that entertain us while we sleep, but rather the ones that we hold dear inside us. These dreams comprise our hopes and desires for what is better, what is meaningful. They are like prayers that try to influence how our lives will unfold.
Sometimes dreams are so beneath the surface of our awareness that when they are manifested in actual life we are pleasantly surprised if not shocked. The places we visit, the people we meet and marry, the jobs that come our way —-all of these were not quite what we had anticipated. In fact, they were better!
In my experience the dreams that have worked out were ethereal at best. They arrived in my consciousness unannounced and were not wrapped in expectation. In fact, I did not know they were actual dreams of mine until they came to fruition.
In contrast, there are are the dreams that we receive from family, friends or the media. These dreams demand our constant attention but they almost never come true. These are the dreams that condition and control us; they push us to live inauthentic lives.
One example of such a dream is the dream of being rich. We wait faithfully to be gifted with thick cash out of the blue. It does not happen but we feel somehow that it’s just about to. Someone will finally recognize our greatness and reward us handsomely for it. We will inexplicably win the lottery and win big! Waiting for this dream to materialize can be harmful if it deters us from earning our wealth in a normal way.
Another example is the dream of being comfortable. Like the dream where sudden, vast wealth plucks us from poverty, this dream promises salvation from discomfort and pain. Life becomes easy and you are now free from anxiety and worry. Again, this is unlikely to happen so you may as well strive to look after yourself.
Generally, it is best not to pursue dreams that relieve us from our mortal limitations. Social wisdom dictates that it is futile to escape death and taxes. It is also futile to escape suffering. Like the fortuneteller who cannot predict the future of her own life with any accuracy, it is difficult for us to gauge correctly the dreams that promise to save us from pain. More often than not, these dreams are a guise for frivolous, wishful thinking.
With age and experience comes the courage to be sincere about your life. Truth be told, not everything you had hoped for has turned out in the way you had imagined. Life has had its share of disappointments and failures.
Still, life remains magical if only because some dreams do come true. What you secretly wish for in your heart of hearts occasionally becomes an incontrovertible fact. But because there is little rhyme or reason to explain why that happens, your job is just to enjoy it while you can.