“Dreams, if they’re any good, are always a little bit crazy.” Ray Charles (from The Painter’s Keys)
Dreamers can carry a heavy stigma. Most people think of dreamers as people “not quite all there.” Dreamers think outside the box. People are forever trying to get dreamers to get back in the box. Many times dreamers buy the line and think they have to get back in the box, so they stifle their dreams. Some of the greatest art, literature, music and more are the products of dreamers.
According to Science.howstuffworks.com dreams were the inspiration behind Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “Lady Ligea.” (Those might have been nightmares??) The website also says dreams were behind some of the music of Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Beethoven. And not just the arts benefit from dreams. Jack Nicklaus dreamed a new way of holding his golf club leading to significant improvements in his game. The list goes on. Check out the link for more.
Artist Fernanda Escalada discusses the difference between dreams and fantasy on her blog, Universoart.com. She is encouraging artists to pursue their dreams but to make sure the dream is not a fantasy. The example she gives as explanation is the person who dreams of dancing “Swan Lake” with the Ballet of Paris. If you are 40 -50 years old, the time for that dream may have passed because of the amount of work and years of training required for such an undertaking. The difference, for Escalada, is that a dream can become an obtainable goal. A goal is reality, not fantasy.
To live outside the box, first check the dream. Is it a possibility or is it too far fetched to ever become reality? Is it real or is it fantasy? If it’s obtainable, it must be pursued. Anything less is a cop out. When all the surrounding forces are trying to force the dreamer to get back in the box, it takes a large measure of bravery to resist the urge to comply. The choice is to live confined to a box with the rest of the boring world or to fly off to the freedom of dreams. Be a crazy dreamer or be in a box. What’s it gonna be? Time to burn that blasted box!
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