" A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement." -Bo Bennett

-----

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." -Edgar Cayce

-----

"Nothing is as real as a dream. The world can change around you, but your dream will not. Responsibilities need not erase it. Duties need not obscure it. Because the dream is within you, no one can take it away." -Tom Clancy

-----

"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy."

-Walt Disney

-----

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now." -Johann von Goethe

-----

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." -Carl Gustav Jung

-----

"All (wo)men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous (wo)men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."
-Thomas Edward Lawrence (of Arabia)

-----

Dreams - dreams make all things possible; vision comes from dreams; dreaming requires action; dreams are from within, from the heart, and cannot be taken away from the outside; dangerous dreamers (to the status quo) are those who act on their dreams with eyes wide open...

The overriding theme that I hear when when reading about dreamers is that dreams create visions of possibility for now and the future, and that dreams make all things possible. A theme of encouragement that the heart needs to feel to persevere, believe in possibility, and patiently work to turn dreams into attainable goals.

As a dreamer who believes in creating vision and intent to achieve that which seems impossible, it is very difficult to entertain the thought that some dreams must be let go. Letting go feels akin to loss, something very familiar and often uncomfortable. I wonder if a dreamer could open her heart and mind to the concept that letting go of a dream creates space for a new possibility, perhaps one never considered...maybe a new dream more wonderful than imaginable in the confines of a single human mind.

Is it possible to truly "let go and let God"? I'm reminded of C. S. Lewis' observation that "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way'." After all, control is an illusion, a illusion of necessity for dreamers who must "have their way". Food for thought...

Why have I journeyed down this pathway of thought today? A suggestion was made this week that ran contrary to my perception of personal identity. It was suggested that I consider moving to an assisted living facility and reconsider my adamant desire for an accessible vehicle of my own. My response to this idea was, at first, one of curiosity and listening to the rationale for such a recommendation. However, as I tossed and turned sleeplessly considering the pros and cons of this lifestyle change, I recognized an unmistakable sense of panic and resistance to the idea that bordered on the precipice of anger that such a suggestion could even be entertained. "How dare he..." came to mind, a marker, for me, of loss of independence and self-control, accompanied by that old trust issue raising it's ugly head!

I know that these suggestions are a reasonable possibility for me in the future, but I was certainly not ready to hear them now. Not now, when I still have not given up my dream of walking and living somewhat independently. I observed myself slipping into an "if only" mode of thinking. "If only" I could finally get that exercise mat and "if only" I could get that para ladder, everyone could relax about the possibility of me falling and not being able to get back into my wheelchair without help. I could show them that I can manage this issue on my own.

This must be the same process of thinking that many others must overcome as their disabled and aging bodies or slipping mental capacities betray them and make such changes necessary. How is it that some people are able to make these changes gracefully and with a positive spirit of gratitude? Obviously, I have a long way to go in this land of lost dreams, this journey of reframing loss into the realm of new possibility and hope!

"Let the dream go. Are there not other dreams

In vastness of clouds hid from thy sight

That yet shall gild with beautiful gold gleams,

And shoot the shadows through and through with light?

What matters one lost vision of the night?

Let the dream go!" ...
-Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "Let Them Go"