If A Fragment of Your Life Wanders Free

 What might happen if a part of you could wander free; still connected to you but freed from the regiments of the life you have created?  Where would you go, what might you be interested in if no one but you could ever know where that part might travel? A ridiculous thought you may say; one cannot do such a thing and should not waste time trying to imagine the outcome! Yet, this is exactly what dreams and goals are made of, the kind we all hope to create.

It is impossible to dream if we cannot remove the constraints we imagine are keeping us from instantly realizing our dreams, all of them. What does this mean, where do those hopes and dreams come from anyway? They come from that part of you that is allowed to wander free to imagine what could be rather than accepting what you believe is reality. We all arrive in our lives with the creative ability to dream, to imagine and to believe in anything that crosses our mind. After all, if we can imagine it then surely it must be possible!

At about the age of three someone else’s reality intercepts our dreams and begins the steady drumbeat of, ‘That’s not possible; you can’t do that, become that or believe that. And presto, all the weight of those powerful authority figures in our lives come crashing down on our dreams. It’s not real they tell us, repeatedly. This continuous lecture about impossibilities can reshape our perception of what can become our future; suddenly our expectations merge with that of someone else’s and a new reality begins. ‘You must not dare to dream, that’s not real and will not serve you in the future.’  Parents and teachers actually express concern about a child who continues to dream freely. 

Those who refuse to allow their hopes and dreams to be crushed are the heroes we read about, the people who went far beyond what anyone close to them imagined they could become. They are the finest crafters of new ideas, the best at scaling heights and the most likely to be memorable to all those who once scoffed at them.  Those who refuse to relinquish their dreams dare to allow a part of them to roam free.  They can never tolerate being confined by ideas they believe do not lead them to a place that can never fulfill what they instinctively know can be.   They are compelled to discover new ideas, to perfect new ways to do old things and to shine light through the cracks of what is broken.

 When we embrace new ideas and ways of doing things we should stop and silently thank the dreamer behind the idea, the one who looked and said there must be a better way and set out to find it. If children only understood how their lives would change by accepting the ‘wisdom’ of adults around them they would never allow their hopes and dreams to be crushed.

 Life begins with an inborn sense of what we can become. We are interested, early in life, in the things that will allow us to realize our potential, our life plan.

Parents who are aware of this encourage their child to keep dreaming, to set goals the parents may believe their child will never be able to achieve. If your hopes and dreams have been packed away by well-meaning people who do not understand, dare to take the time to unpack them; allow yourself to wander freely among them. You will reignite the childlike faith in what can still be a part of your life.

 Blessed are the dreamers who choose to allow their imagination and creativity to roam free, for they shall light the path ahead!