Yesterday when a loved one told me a tale of need, I immediately came up with a grandiose plan to remedy the situation. I spent a few hours playing out that dream scheme with excitement and trepidation. As a big dreamer, I know that my vision sometimes leaps beyond what's realistic. As the day continued, I shared the idea with many. In time, I realized that while the idea itself was good, it was impractical for many reasons. Essentially I wanted to negate many systems that exist and create a brand news system to solve the problem, and what I realized is that while our long held systems may not be perfect, those systems, in many ways, do meet the practical and realistic needs and potential that exist. So was my dream journey a waste of time and energy? I'd say yes and no.
Yes, because I took a lot of people with me down a dream journey that perhaps provided some false hope related to time, service, and potential. I'd say no because while my big dream was unrealistic, that dream held some nuggets of possibility and reach that we can all embrace as we try to meet the needs that exist in positive, life-enriching ways. Beginning with a big dream and then scaling back has potential to better situations in significant ways if you're willing to entertain the big dream first.
When I'm dreaming big, I have to remind myself and those I'm dreaming with that I'm not superhuman, yet I am human and can help out in some ways that matter. I always remember the example of a colleague who contributed to almost every initiative in some small way. You could count on her support and that was positive, and you could count on her to be realistic--she knew she couldn't do it all, so instead she did what she could to lend encouragement, support, and care. That is a good model to follow.
So we can dream big which helps us to identify what's needed and what can happen, but then we have to scale back to what's realistic and doable given our time, commitments, location, energy, skill and knowledge. Today I'll avoid any big dream journey so I can catch up on chores I neglected yesterday. Onward.