Dreaming - fantasies about something greatly desired. Simple human logic tells that we all dream and imagine a better future, better partner, tastier food or better anything in life. Right?
What if I told you that many of us have stopped dreaming or just do not know how to do it anymore? Life got in the way and turned some of us into realistic, logical and rational human beings, who act and live their everyday life based on the facts and what is present at the moment.
Many of us have forgotten our inner child, who used to play with imaginary friends; dolls who were living, breathing and talking in our tiny mind; or toy race cars that were the fastest in the world. Now you might call it stupid, childish, or even a waste of time as it does not pay the bills?
As I mostly write about things relevant to me, or what have been pondering on my mind lately, then this issue, challenge, problem or call it however, is a part my realisation. I have stopped dreaming! The saddest is that I did not even know I had done it. I am always happy and positive with a wicked sense of humour (Yes! I do! Hah!), so I thought I knew how to dream. But I was wrong.
How did I came to this realisation? Acting classes! Comes out that realistic and rational person is not the best actress after all, who knew huh? I was supposed to have a class with adults, but due to the time-schedule discrepancies I joined youngsters instead. They were 8-11 years old girls and boys. And when I saw how their brains worked, how they imagined something that was not there, how they improvised on the spot something amazing, literally out of this world, I realised that my mind has been trapped in a box. I though that I was free as a bird, but no. My mind, or my imaginary world, has been formed by social norm of what is right, logical and rational.
And all those words like right, logical, rational, realistic are just limitation to your dreams. But dreams make you happier even if they might not come true. They give you hope, motivation and desire to strive for something. They put life wheels in motion.
Have you heard sayings like “The less you know, the better you sleep”, “ God keeps drunkards safe”, or “Ignorant people are the happiest”. Okay, some may be true, some just came from the back of my mind. What I am trying to say is that people who have decided to ignore social demands on how to act or how to be, are actually happier than the ones who live exactly like it is expected from them by society.
When I was 15, my cousin told me that I was a 15-years old girl with a 25-years old woman’s mind. I took it as a compliment. I was always very mature for my age. I just got things done! Whatever I decided to do, I did it very well. I committed 100% to everything I decided to do. Results were good, they made me happy. I was and still am an actions based and I have done so many great things in my life I am grateful for. But I had mistaken action for dreaming. Since I worked hard and got what I worked for, I thought that this is it, this is how it supposed to be.
There were couple of warning signs in acting classes previously. One class I realise that there was “too much me in my acting”. It means that I judged the character from my perspective, I held back because my subconscious was too careful because my character’s behaviour did not meet the standards I had set in my life. I thought I was a rebel, but I realised I have been a “good girl” all along because my standards were the ones that restrained me.
Of course this realisation does not mean that I will suddenly get my body tattooed, pierced, my hair coloured purple or do something that would be totally out of the ordinary for me. For someone’s this is their reality, for me it would be extreme.
BUT I will make some changes in my life. And one of them is to learn how to dream again. How could we do it if we have let our very realistic life turn us into human beings without desires to have more that we have at present?
I am determined to dream again! So far, so good. The change I have noticed is that I am even less judgmental than I have ever been before. I thought that I did not judge people, and I still don’t, but I judged myself a lot as I though I had myself figured out and judgment came when I did not meet my own standards. But letting it go bit by bit! Or maybe just going crazy by wanting my mind to see something that is not there..haha, but as far as I am concerned then today dreaming is a new black!
