As a college student, my dream was to be a professional singer. I had both the talent and the capability. However, before I could begin the path to making that dream a reality, I found myself married with a young family. I decided that the dream was not possible for me, and I put it away. I didn't think that it could be saved for later--it was thrown away.
Years passed, and my kids all started school, so I had the opportunity to go back to school myself. I didn't even think about pursuing my dream. Instead, I borrowed someone else's dream and became a bilingual teacher. That was probably the worst mistake of my life. Teaching is a great career, but teaching a subject that doesn't hold your heart is death. I was good at teaching, but bilingual education was nothing more for me than a job. But I didn't think it would be forever. My husband and I talked about it and decided that we would come up with a plan where I would teach until he also had a decent job, then I could teach music. It wasn't my dream, but it was something to look forward to.
I began teaching in October, 1992, and in 1993, my husband died. With him went my dream. I had four children to care for, and finding a different career was totally out of the question. No more dreams for me.
I continued in this vein for many years, but recently, things have begun to change. I began to allow myself to dream. With that freedom came the thought, "Why not?" Why shouldn't I sing if that was what I wanted to do? So I started taking lessons. That was when I discovered something completely unexpected. Singing might have been my dream, but it wasn't a dream that I cared enough about to make it happen. I practiced, I sang, I soloed, but I could tell that a lifetime of this was not what I wanted. It was--and is--a great hobby, but it isn't what I want to do with the rest of my life.
After a year of this, I found myself writing my first book. Since then, I have written another book and started a website--soon to be two or maybe even three. Writing, I discovered, is my real dream. But if I hadn't given singing a chance, I would always wonder if I was missing out. Now I know that I'm not. I write every day, and when I'm not writing, I'm editing or proofing or blogging or something else related to this, my new dream. This dream has gone from dream to goal to reality and back again. It is the gift that keeps on giving, as I find more and more outlets for my writing. I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas for my next book. It's truly heaven!
So this is for the person who does not dream. Do you remember what used to be important to you? Can you pick it back up again? If not exactly what you used to love, can you pick up a variation? You might find that revisiting an old dream can give you a path to a new one. Or who knows, maybe you'll rekindle that dream and it will become your new reality! Either way, God bless you in the journey!