Sometimes when we dream, we hope and pray that the dream will come true. However, I am learning that some dreams need to remain dreams.
I remember there was a very expensive electronic device that I wanted a few years ago. I literally dreamed about this device every night for three weeks straight. It was hard to concentrate on other important life events. I had daydreamed about this device every day. I visited the website every day, and I prayed that one day I could afford this very expensive device.
Well, the day finally came! I was able to save enough money to purchase this device. I ordered it and anxiously waited for the device to change my life. The day before its arrival, I literally could not sleep. I lay in bed, thinking about all the fun I would have. More importantly, how it would change my life. I ignored the negative reviews because those people were not me, so I would be different.
On the day of its arrival, you would think that I was expecting a newborn child. I could not sit still. When the box arrived on my doorstep, I was at the door waiting on the UPS man. I grabbed the box and knew my dream was coming true. I opened the box as carefully as possible (given my excitement).
When I opened it, I was super underwhelmed. The device was not what I pictured in my mind. It was smaller, and the features did not work as I thought. All of my dreams were crushed. I did not use it and sold it a few weeks later.
I know some people are saying, this is crazy, and you do not have pity for me. However, this experience taught me about life. Sometimes, dreams are only dreams. They are not meant to be realized. I think this is the case because we put those dreams on pedestals. We build them up and only notice the good parts of the dream. Because dreams are fantasy, we can ignore the imperfections. We want the dream to come true so badly we will do almost anything to make it work. We often are blind to the warning signs.
Many of us do this when we are trying to develop relationships. We have this vision of how the person could be, but we fail to realize that this dream is not how the person will be. Since we have this vision, we have placed them on this pedestal. We often run for the hills when the person fails to meet these unrealistic expectations. We ignored the initial warning signs and were left to deal with the consequences. We are heartbroken when we realize the person was only a dream.
I think about the times that I held people to these expectations. What would have been the outcome if I had allowed the dream to be just that, a dream? If I would have kept the dream to myself? If I had never acted on the dream?
I believe I would have been better off. I would have built the dream up and would have been completely satisfied with the outcome. It would have remained perfect in my mind. I would not have been let down and in pain.
I am not telling you to let all of your dreams remain dreams. I am speaking of those dreams we all know are not entirely correct. The ones where we see the writing on the wall, and we destroy it because it does not say what we like. These are the dreams that need to stay locked in our heads. If we are completely heartbroken, do not do it.
If I did not try to pursue these relationships. I would still have that perfect dream to marvel at for the rest of my life. Instead, I inherited a nightmare, which I am trying to forget.
My only advice for you is to be cautiously optimistic about living out your dreams!
Until next time:
Let God’s light shine within and through you!
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