“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

In life we often think about our goals, our dreams and our ambitions. We focus on these often at times, sometimes not so often, other times not at all. Sometimes we lose sight of them in our busyness, being caught up in life, set upon by trials, obstacles, regrets or other turmoil beyond our control. Yet with some, the focus on dreams and ambitions remains vigilant even in the darkest light, even among the heaviest of trials. Spheres of headlong focus, and fighting to achieve dreams exist within us all, if we should only grasp these pearls and know of their strength.

It is the fight. The good fight; a fight to realize our own truths, to grow into who we truly are. Without our fight, without our dreams, our soul becomes stagnant, suffocated, struggling to breathe. It is in the dying of our selves that we become what some call “wiser” or “grown-up.” We look back to what we now consider foolish pursuits and say, that was a waste of time. But, was it? Or does the time we waste belong in the action of non-pursuit? Was the time that we spent dreaming, conjuring, planning and setting course to achieve wholeness truly wasteful? My answer is no.

It is in pursuit of dreams where we are the most alive. This is realized in both the peace and excitement that we feel while pursuing our dreams along our path. It is realized in the discouragement we feel when we think we’ve failed, yet we remain unaware that we’ve only begun. It is realized in the sense of accomplishment we feel when we end the last page, sign our work, receive our degree, or plant a new seed in our garden and cover it with Earth. It is fully realized when we stop chasing after our dreams and our heart beat is then muffled, beating quieter when we are not actively pursuing our dreams.

For many, dreams are thrown to the wayside in frustration, in defeat and in the moment when all things crash and fall around us. These dreams lay dormant, eroding away never to be realized in life. They remain only an idea, only a beautiful thought that struggles to know the light of the world. They die in our non-action, in our act of “growing up.”

We can all grow up, and dream still.

In the past, I was often told by others that “dreams don’t pay the bills.” Well, to this I’ve always responded by saying that one day they just might. And regardless, to me, dreams pay the bills of the heart. Without dreaming and pursuing these ambitions, my heart grows silent and recedes from action. Without paying the bills of the heart we become evicted from our true self, our true ideal.

I’ve thought about it, forgetting my dreams. And, in doing so, I become practical, level-headed and mature. I delete the thought of what could be and replace it with what is. But then I am saddened. Because what could be is far more tantalizing and full of life than what is. What could be keeps me going, it keeps me active, it keeps me vigilant and intrepid. Without what could be, why even be?

Along the path to realize our dreams, getting lost in our trials and obstacles is one thing that happens, and I cannot blame a person for becoming discouraged during these times. But, perhaps these aren’t trials at all. If only we could be shown so.

“Before, in that moment still, I’d thought about all of my shortcomings, all of my trials, pitfalls and poor happenstance and thought of them deeply. I thought of them as nothing more than painful obstacles. But, just as I had these thoughts, a voice in my ether spoke and said: “These are not obstacles, they are gifts.” And then I thought about it for a moment as I looked upon the landscape before me, as I looked about all the small wildflowers that sprinkled the landscape and couldn’t help but to think, how beautiful they were. Then I realized in that moment of synchronicity that the voice spoke true. Everything was a gift, and I was truly grateful.”

The above passage is an excerpt from my next book that I’m working to finish. And in this example, I hope that one can understand the importance of pursuing dreams, even in the face of torment, adversity or within a run of setbacks.

Each day, hour, minute, second, thought and idea are gifted to us. Within each of these are other gifts. These are gifts within gifts, if we only realize it. Our paths are full of gifts, only to be opened by our hands, and only witnessed by our eyes.

To the dreamer, think about your gifts. Recall these moments where hope was nearly lost, and be thankful that you never stopped.

It is vital that we never stop dreaming, that we never stop creating our dreams, and more importantly, never stop pursuing them. It is only within this sphere, the sphere of dreams, one that dwells in tandem with the soul, that we reveal our own truth to ourselves.

Dream on, and fight the good fight.