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Dare to Dream

Walter Elias Disney will be remembered long after all of us have departed. He will of course be remembered for the iconic cast of characters that has adorned the lives of children for generation upon generation.

Disney has that rarest of legacies that transposes dream and fantasy with gross commercialism. But if life is based on reality, where do dream and fantasy come into the equation of our existence?

In my search, I came across a website by the name of The Big Dreamer, authored by a chap called Mark Foo. He writes about ‘personal growth’ and ‘self-development’, that most modern of fads. In my opinion, Mr Foo is an extremely intelligent man, who has managed to earn his money quite simply by telling us what we already know:-

I realised that there’s been confusion between what’s a dream and what’s a fantasy. A fantasy is a good-to-have, while a dream is a must-have. It then dawned on me that what a lot of people actually have is a fantasy, rather than a dream. (Mark Foo)

Bingo!! Now that was rocket science!! Now if my understanding is right, we should dream but not fantasise? In ‘reality’ there is little point in me holding on to the fantasy of scoring the winning goal of the World Cup Final … I’m about 10 years too old, 10 stone too heavy, and 10 seconds too slow … buddy, I hate to break it to you, but it’s not gonna happen!

But I can dream … dream of that perfect job, the holiday in paradise, the special moments … and maybe the winning goal in the Greater Birmingham 5-a-side for over 40s … in a few years time anyway! I can certainly dream of my vuvuzela that is currently winging it’s way from the Rainbow Nation!

As I write, I stand on the precipice of a life long dream. But even so, it takes courage to pursue a dream. It takes stupidity to pursue a fantasy.

How do we know whether our goal is dream or fantasy? Well that’s in our reality and only we know the honest answer.

Confused? Dream, Fantasy and Reality are oft mentioned in the same breath, but are in reality poles apart. Sometimes we need our closest friends to tell us simple truths. Even the great names in history acknowledges this:-

Do not be angry with me if I tell you the truth. (Socrates)

Dreams become a reality, and that is what inspires me. But where dream brings risk, we simply need the bravery to take the leap of faith out of comfort zone. Our old reality will not be far away if we need to step back into it.

I am in the fortunate position of being able to combine faith and philosophy in making my decisions.

He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being. (Tillich)

OR

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)

Either way, even in a society which thrives on cynicism and criticism, it is clear to me that you must ‘dare to dream’, and remember that ‘failure does not mean that you have failed’.

I leave you with the words of Mr Disney, the master of dream and fantasy:-

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them (Walt Disney)