The Day I Learned Not to Dream
When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was write. I carried a
green-coversealed notebook around with me all the time. I jotted down bits of
conversations I overheard, interesting words, and detailed descriptions of
protagonists that would star in my stories.
Then one day, my dad threw my notebook in the trash. It got
collected by the garbage truck and went to the landfill to die. I cried and
asked my dad why he would do that. “Oh that book isn’t important”, he said.
What he meant was your stories, your
dreams aren’t important to me or the world.
I carried that message with me a long time. I stopped
writing. But even though I had stopped writing people could still see the dream
in me. Teachers and colleagues would say things like, “I can see you becoming a
famous writer one day”. Yet still I didn’t write.
Eventually I realised, years later, that what he said really
had nothing to do with my dreams, my potential or my talent. What he said reflected
how he felt about his dreams: he had given up on himself.
Can you think of times when people close to you have tried to
squash your dream? Just for today allow yourself to wonder whether maybe that
person’s criticism or rejection of your dreams had nothing to do with you at
all. Allow yourself to wonder whether it is time to re-invite your dream into
your life again.
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