09/11/2014
A few days ago while texting my wife, I whimsically texted, “There’s a difference between a wish and a dream.” After making that statement, I began to think about what I said. I looked up the definitions of both words to determine if my statement was really true. Here’s what Merriam-Webster had to say about it:
Wish (noun): an act of thinking about something that you want and hoping that you will get it or that it will happen in some magical way.
Dream (noun): a strongly desired goal or purpose; a visionary creation of the imagination.
As I look at those definitions, I see a difference between the two. Often when we use the word “wish” we don’t really expect it to happen. We walk by a wishing well and drop in a coin. We wish upon a falling star. As children we fight over the ends of a wishbone. Then we toss up an improbable desire like, “I wish I had a million dollars.” Yet, do we really expect it to come true? As I see it a wish is a stated desire, without the hope or commitment behind it to bring it to fruition.
A dream, on the other hand, is something we can see, imagine, or feel within ourselves and we can work towards bringing into the world of reality. It is a deep seated desire, goal, or purpose for which we are actively working to attain. A dream has hope, commitment, and in many cases even a plan behind it. In other words, if your dream is to be a veterinarian, then you are actively pursuing that dream. If your dream is to be an author, you are actively writing.
Without that commitment, we are only wishing. If we aren’t working for that dream to come true, then we don’t really believe in it, do we?
As I ruminated upon this thought, I came to the realization that I too often wish rather than dream. I toss out that desire and really never expect it to become reality. I’ve always thought of myself as a bit of a dreamer and ideas spin around in my head all of the time. I suppose one could call that dreaming, but in order to make any of those ideas ‘my dream’ I need to actually put some effort out to make them come true.
In Whispers in the Wind, Abby’s class moto is: “Dreams are only dreams until you make them come true.” What that motto means is that a dream (a strong desired goal or purpose) is only a dream (a visionary creation of the imagination) until you commit and work towards making it into reality.
I’ve realized the dream of being a writer because I actually pursued that dream. I’ve written and published three novels. I have several more novels in the process, but am I actively seeking to be the kind of author I want to be? I have a bigger dream. I want to write a novel that is so emotional, so impactful, that it sweeps its readers up beyond anything they’ve ever read before. Am I working hard enough to achieve my goal of writing that one novel which impacts readers so much that they can’t help talking about it?
I have a desire to be a fulltime writer. I can’t think of anything more exciting than to spend my days weaving words into a tapestry of visions or bringing to life a fictional character with which readers can fall in love. Painting worlds which come alive on pages of words and creating visions in the minds of readers is incredible. Being able to use words to evoke emotions and pull at someone’s heartstrings when they least expect it is an awesome feeling.
These thoughts bring me to a crossroad. I can wish I was a fulltime writer, or I can dream of being a fulltime writer. I can work at it, or I can hope it magically happens. I can work every day to make my writing better, or I can sit back and wait for it to fall from the stars. So, what about you? Do you dream or just wish? Are you working to make your greatest dreams become reality or are you tossing pennies into a wishing well and moving on. It’s okay to wish upon a star, but are you going to let that wish disappear or are you going to turn it into a dream? Let’s all dream big and live bigger.
