Monday, July 7, 2014

Follow Your Dreams


Contrary to the opinion of some people, it really is not a bad thing to be a dreamer and follow your dreams. However, to clarify what I mean, of course I am not talking about “childhood fantasy daydreaming” as opposed to having a, “Marten L. King dream; which is what I am talking about being worthy of pursuit.

By definition, “Daydreaming” is a short-term detachment from one's immediate surroundings, during which a person's contact with reality is blurred and partially substituted by a visionary “fantasy”. However, having a dream you want to pursue, may involve a little daydreaming at some point. Nevertheless, the kind of dreams I am referring to is a much more reality based, and mostly conscious as far as your thought process. “Having a dream” is based on our “ideas, things we hope to accomplish in life”; usually our dreams of this nature are not only self-centered. Although, new and innovative ideas we may have, and want to accomplish, are sometimes thought of by others as fantasy, or wishful thinking. However, we cannot allow the negative opinions of others to discourage us to the point of giving up on our dreams. I think the greatest challenge anyone often has to overcome when it comes to following your dreams, is not being focused on other peoples opinions instead of our desire to accomplish our dreams. Of course every dream a person has is not going to workout, but it is my belief that it is always important to at least try to fulfill them.

Many people, who have been ridiculed and called dreamers, are responsible for making some of the greatest contributions to our world, to mention a few;
Leonardo Da Vinci – The father of many inventions, which are now the basis for many of our modern inventions.
Isaac Newton – Brought physical science out of the dark ages with not only his theories, but also his inventions
Marie Curie – An innovator in medical science, changed social & scientific views of medical treatment overall.
Thomas Edison – Responsible for inventing many of the first versions of our modern conveniences
John Vincent Atanasoff  - If it were not for this man, you probably would not be reading this article. Because, he invented the first digital computer
Albert Einstein – Because of this man’s genus (one of my heroes), we understand our world & our universe from a scientific point of view. Because of Einstein we have a space program!
Mark Zuckerberg - an American computer programmerInternet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is best known as one of five co-founders of the social-networking website Facebook.

These people were often miss-understood, ridiculed and persecuted for their for their ideas; their inventions were often mocked. Nevertheless, these great examples of dreamers, and many more like them, continued to follow their dreams; and I am thankful for that, because we all live in a better world because of their dreams and their fortitude in the pursuit of them.

Yes, I am a dreamer too. I have pursued many of my dreams; Some things I have ventured in my life I consider to be great successes; other things I have attempted I guess some might call failures. However, I do not look as my unsuccessful endeavors as failures, I just chalk them up to being a “learning experience”.  Nevertheless, a point I would like to make here is, I do not regret anything I have done to follow my heart and follow my dreams. I would however, regret never having tried; for knowing myself as I do, I know I would someday be left wondering, “What if…” that I could not live with!

It is my philosophy in life that it is never a waste of time, or a waste of my life, to try something new. I certainly not think it is foolish to stick to what I want to do, no matter how difficult the task. Even if I have to try different ways to accomplish what I setout to do, I approach my dream pursuits with the same mindset as my work ethic; I will not give up easily on a dream. If I do give up ona a dream pursuit, it is only after I have proved to myself by trying every option that, a pursued dream is “just not a productive endeavor”. As far as trying and/or giving up on something, the following about sums it up for me… I once read a parable quote which states;

“A fool folds his hands and makes no effort.
Therefore, he accomplishes nothing in life;
leaving himself only to waste away; (while thinking to himself)
“It is better to get just a little without much effort,
than it is to gain much from laboring all day;
to me, all that labor is just chasing the wind …”
Ecclesiastes 4:5 & 6 American Bible Paraphrased

The example given above, is what I think sums up true human folly, it is never trying. This kind of hopelessness, lazy, narrow minded thinking is not really living life, and that is a terminal disease.

Another serious problem which can rob us of the best of ourselves is being worried about what everyone else will think. Other peoples opinions can be a valuable asset at times. However, we cannot live our life based on what others think; that is not really living. Therefore, I will continue to be my own person and I will follow my dreams!
Author Dolly S.J. Piper July 2014



positive mind and a good idea, is a terrible thing to waste!

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