Rekindling Your Dream…

There I was watching the latest comedy installment from the very talented, Dave Chappelle, laughing hysterically at joke after inappropriate joke when all of a sudden we got to the close of the show and Dave, as his manner is, started talking seriously about the power of having dreams for yourself. He went on to explain how he saw himself where is he is today many years later living in the abundant success he pictured as a 14 year old kid. As he talked about the power we have as people to shape our lives by the things we dream of for ourselves, it stirred a chord in my heart. It reminded me of a time many years ago when I first read the classic, “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen. I was reminded of how powerful the thoughts we think about ourselves are and how much our thoughts, our dreams, our expectations help form the actual life we live today. As Dave remarked, “if you dream it long enough, it will come to pass in your life. (paraphrased)” You don’t have to look very far to see how so many famous athletes and actors and all manner of dreamers are living the exact life they pictured so ardently in their youth. So it got me thinking… What dreams did you once have in your heart that time and the experiences of life have long since pushed away from the surface? What kind of dreams did you dream for yourself when you were a kid? These dreams in our hearts didn’t necessarily have to be spectacular and grandiose. But rather, they represented ideal circumstances we pictured for ourselves. Things that fed our joy for living. Things that made life an exciting adventure we could not wait to live. Things that warmed our hearts and encouraged us to seek more and find more. Things we could only dream of at the time. In that, what dreams did you let go of in favor of the safe, the predictable, the routine? What parts of you remain buried from view seeking full expression? Indeed, what happened to those dreams and can they be rekindled?

It has been said that God puts those dreams in our hearts. When I first learned this it seemed a bit unfair that God would choose my dreams. However, as I learned more about God and His perfection, I realized that He knows me better than I know myself. He knows what makes my heart beat faster. He knows what floats my boat. He knows where I excel and where I struggle. He knows the things I can do that no one else can do and as such has already connected my dreams to my abilities. One clue in finding out your heart’s dreams is to understand what you do the best. What is it that you do that causes time time to stand still for you when you do it? What comes natural for you and begs for expansion and expression? God has carefully nurtured that ability in you and it is up to you to pursue it. I think we get confused when we think our dreams have to end in fame and fortune. Nothing wrong with either one, but it’s your dream. Fame and fortune don’t always end well for some folks. Maybe you have a contagious and unparalleled enthusiasm that has long since been dampened. Perhaps there is a field of work that is not conventional and safe, but for you it is everything. The possibilities are as unlimited as God is unlimited. The quest, your quest is finding it for yourself. But, don’t look too hard as it is already a part of you. It seems the many varied experiences in life can lead us away from who we really are at times. We get so busy doing everything everyone else decided we should do. We get distracted and busy and have no time left for dreaming our ideal scenario. Yet, we owe it to ourselves to keep dreaming. Maybe we really didn’t want to be a fireman or a jet pilot. But maybe we did. It seems a healthier approach would be to consider what our ideal state produced in our lives. Perhaps time has long since quelled our ability to play in the Bigs, yet there was some appeal to us in that dream that we can still enjoy today. Maybe it was the ability to “play” for a living or actually do something we enjoyed instead of had to do. Maybe it was having the financial freedom to live how we wanted to live instead of living according to someone else’s dictates in order to get paid. Maybe it was to have a large platform from which to express ourselves fully. Maybe it was having the “cajones” to live our lives exactly how we wanted to live it, fully and unapologetically. Whatever the case and whatever your motive, it is your one life to live and you may as well enjoy it.

Many of us and likely unbeknownst to us, are living in a condition we used to dream of living in. We have resources we only wished we had in our youth. Maybe we live in a home that belonged to another class of people. Maybe we have freedoms we have long since taken for granted. The point being that our life dreams are many and not just confined to one category of life. It seems we do ourselves a disservice by linking our success in life to the one grand thing that hasn’t happened yet, nor may ever happen. That’s not compromising as much as it is learning and growing and refining what is most important to us. When I was young I wanted to be the CEO, but having a family got in the way of that. Today I’d rather have my family! Instead of chasing dollars, I chased after God. A decision I will never regret. Your dreams are just that, your dreams. Your heart is unique and what you need to be in an ideal condition of life is completely up to you. So get after your ideal state. Chase what matters most to you and resist the clamor of public opinion. I have always admired the man or woman who chased exactly what they wanted out of life and got it. It sounds trite, but so many people think the American dream is having gobs of money. In fact, people tend to deem you successful by how much money you have. Nothing wrong with the money of course, but life is so much bigger than that. Sure you need to have enough to live how you want to live and it’s up to you to pursue it. But don’t get it twisted, it’s not all there is. It seems the people living close to their dreams always find a way to get it anyway as living in alignment with their true selves cannot help but prosper. Think ideal conditions. That is your dream.

It is never too late to pursue your dreams. It is never too late to get after your ideal state. If God put the dream in your heart nothing can stymy that dream unless you allow it to. Maybe you aint going to play in “the league” but you can still be the star of your own life. I think many of our dreams are thwarted by listening to those opposing forces always quick to remind us of what we are not. Did you ever consider why they work so hard on convincing you otherwise? We are surrounded by so much negativity and so-called “reality” when the only reality for your life is what you can conceive it to be. Our dreams contain enough power to literally bring those good things we seek right to us. But, you have to dream it. You have to be able to see it. Can you see the thing you so desperately want to happen happening to you or is it absent from your mental pictures? If you cannot even see it, its likelihood of occurring in your life is very slim. You have to invest in yourself by clearly picturing and cleaving to your ideal state. You are going to live your life anyway, so you may as well get to something you want instead of perpetually thinking and running from what you don’t want. It is your life and it is your responsibility. That’s not to say you won’t have opposition. You will. The greater your dream, the greater the opposition you will face. But a step forward is a step forward. You already know the real joy in life is in the pursuit. Pursue it.

Do not spend another day in the doldrums, the routines, the life sucking mediocrity and boredom that poses as a life. Get what makes you happy. Chase what makes your heart sing. Make your one shot at life count. You don’t have to be famous, unless of course that is your dream. Be whatever and whomever you want to be. Be someone you can be proud of, not because you do it all right, but because you got out there and did it. Yes you can rekindle your dreams because they never really go away. God bless the dreamers!