Dare to Dream

The light turns red- so you're supposed to stop. Yes, stop. Stop and ponder. Take a little break and immerse yourself into total blankness. Imagine your life as a piece of white paper.  And well now you are allowed to paint. You may begin to paint it in your heart's desires, in whichever way you want it to be.

(Below is an article I found - again when I was cleaning my room today. Enjoy.)

The word ‘dreams’ conjures up many images – the activity our brains engage in when we are asleep; the woolgathering that our irate teachers and parents catch us doing when we should be paying attention; the aspirations that give our lives meaning and purpose. Many psychoanalysts tell us that dreams are important for ‘clearing out the software’ from a busy day, a form of ‘off-line’ processing to save the good stuff and get rid of the useless. Pragmatic employers, parents and educators, however may scoff at the idea that dreams are important, arguing instead that dreams – in particular, daydreaming – take precious time away from work, as success is achieved through hard work, and hard work alone. While their arguments are not totally wrong, dreams are still important for our health and overall functioning, for igniting out creative spark, and for giving us the impetus to stay true to our ideals.

First, dreams are integral to our physical and mental health. Dream theorists argue that while we sleep and our bodies are at rest, the mind, through the act of dreaming, sorts out the events of the day – what Freud terms ‘day residue’ – and gets it ready to function at its optimal best the next day. Seen from this biological point of view, dreams are necessary because they help our bodies de-stress and rejuvenate. Given the increasingly hectic pace of modern living, dreams therefore are essential to help us manage our daily avalanche of sensory experiences, so that we remain physically and mentally productive, rather than falling prey to stress-related illnesses.

Furthermore, dreams – in the form of daydreaming – have value because they allow our creative juices to flow. Unfortunately, many skeptics (mostly bosses and teachers and anxious parents) dismiss daydreaming as a waste of time, an occupation of the lazy and the bored. Thankfully, for those of us, whether students or employees, who treasure and enjoy the time spent daydreaming, there is strong support for the importance of daydreaming. When we daydream in school or at work – just relaxing or woolgathering as some of us like to call it – we let our minds wander. Unfettered by time, space and logic, we have the glorious freedom to imagine and link ideas in unrelated ways that our conscious minds will not do. The result? We make connections that we have never seen before and imagine things that do not exist, expanding our horizons and allowing true reflection that is usually curtailed by the pressures of time. Daydreaming enabled Newton to discover his laws of gravity, Robert Frost to ponder the road less travelled, and the Wright brothers to imagine the possibility of flying. In today’s innovation-driven age, it pays for companies who want to succeed to allow more time for their employees to daydream. Already, companies like Google and 3M have taken steps to harness this creative need for individual expression in concrete ways. Google lets it employees spend 20% of their time on technology projects of their own choice, projects that catch their fancy. Google News, G-mail and Orkut were developed from this freewheeling time. Such ‘idea labs’ indeed attest to the sweet irony that dreams, far from being a waste of time, can actually help companies to come up with more cutting-edge products and services and become pioneers in their industries.

More significantly, dreams – the act of aspiring towards a goal – give us vision. They provide direction for our lives and give us something to work toward. Some skeptics complain that dreams can be overly ambitious and unrealistic, and as such, may give individuals the false hope that they can succeed despite their lack of talent, resources or circumstance. However, it is precisely having goals beyond our present reach, a big picture or high flown ideals, that allow us to challenge our ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’ and make great transformational changes. That black Americans enjoy a greater measure of racial equality today is due in no small part to Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘overly ambitious’ dream. Who would have thought at that moment that it would be possible for black Americans to vote and to enjoy basic liberties? Or that amongst them, one would one day lead their country as President? Dreams evoke emotions and drive that can power our actions more profoundly than pure logic and reason. They can unite people and capture the imagination, and be the platform from which our desires to enrich and renew society can be envisioned.

Dreams – our hopes and our aspirations – are vital because they help us to stay the course and remain true to our ideals amidst disappointment and suffering. Dreams act as the bright Northern Star that helps us to navigate and find our bearings; help us find what gives our lives meaning and purpose. Iran’s Mousavi may have suffered defeat against political incumbent President Ahmadinejad in the latest elections, but his dream of ending political and religious oppression, and improving the economic lives of Iranians will help him stay true to his vision, even as he suffers the repercussions of his political defiance. Gandhi, Mandela, and Mother Teresa – they have all endured suffering and hardship, but remained true to their convictions. Why? Their dreams gave them the courage to pursue what they believed was right, provided them with the moral ballast to speak out against the injustices of the day, and the power to inspire many other generations after to champion their causes.

It is striking that in a world that is increasingly focused on concrete material realities, people continue to dream big. Sporting events, the media industry, the animation industry, the fantasy and science fiction industries continue to emphasise the fact that dreams do come true and one should dream big. The filming of stories conjured up by people’s imaginations like The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Batman and Harry Potter have been hugely popular, showing that people continue to appreciate the other worlds our minds can offer, to desire alternate realities, to need an escape. People idolize sporting greats, Hollywood stars and the rich and famous, who represent a life beyond the ordinary, and through newspapers, tabloid magazines, and television shows, enjoy the vicarious pleasure of watching them do things ordinary people combine. Talent shows, lucky draws, and sweepstakes all testify to people’s dreams of making it big, and the commitment shown by contestants and the faithful who make their bets each week speaks volumes of the need for hope that things can change beyond our beliefs and our mundane experience.

Dreams are often dismissed because of their intangible and mysterious nature, and because time is so limited and there are so many other important things to do. Yet, the things we do not understand and which may seem unrelated and trivial hold a power beyond our expectations, a function that proves to be necessary to our daily lives. Dreams are important not just for individuals’ physical and mental well-being, they are also useful in helping us solve problems and create new ideas. Dreams provide the impetus for radical change, and keep us true to our vision amidst suffering and hardship. Dreams fuel our existence and make life that much more colourful, interesting and rich. Seen in this light, it is difficult to accept the view that dreams have little place in our pragmatic society today.

(Written by Elizabeth Mesenas, Published by Broader Perspectives: Issue 6 & 7)