hopes and dreams

Who are you to judge someone's hopes and dreams?

Can you really sit there and tell someone that what they want is not what they SHOULD want?

Of course not.

I think on some basic level we all have the same hopes and dreams which is to have our needs provided for and to be happy.

But it is the details that make life interesting. Because for some people having their "needs provided for" can simply mean having enough to get by every month without the bill collector breathing down their back. Yet for someone else that would mean having a vacation home in the Hamptons in addition to their posh New York City apartment.

As for happiness, that comes in a million different varieties. The happiest among us are those who learn to be happy with what they have.

I am happy with what I have. Yet I still have dreams of finishing my novel and becoming a published author. Will I be miserable if that doesn't happen? No.

So if I am happy now and will still be happy even if that doesn't happen, why do it?

Because I think I will be even happier if I do it. Because it's fun. Because I like having a challenge. Because I love the idea of sharing my words with other people.

But my dream is not for everyone.

My dream is not to cure heart disease, but I'm glad that someone else has that dream.

Being a top lawyer in a big firm might be someone's dream and that might make them super happy, but it would make me super miserable.

That's why we focus on our own dreams rather than worry about anyone else's. Occasionally we get the urge to share what has worked for us because we want to share our happiness and see other people be happy. But we must remember that what makes us happy, won't necessarily make others happy.

When I was younger I used to get annoyed that my parents never gave me much advice or guidance. But maybe they knew something that I didn't... maybe they knew that I had to figure out what I wanted to do and be rather than be what they dreamt me to be. Maybe they are a lot smarter than I gave them credit for.

So go ahead, share your dreams with others. Help other people to accomplish their dreams. But don't force your dreams onto other people or belittle their dreams.

Dream on.