Thoughts on Dreams

I admit it: I am one of those English majors who will “think for food,” as the joke goes.  I will read and think about pretty much anything you throw at me.  If there is food involved in the process, more the better.

When I think about life, my thoughts nearly always turn to words for solace, inspiration, humor – whatever I need.  Today I turn to the words of one of my favorite guys for a little inspiration.

In the “Conclusion” of Walden, Henry David Thoreau writes:

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favor in a more liberal sense, and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

In these lines, Thoreau discusses the potential unrealistic or seemingly unattainable nature of dreams.  At the end of the selection, he tells us that placing our dreams – our castles – in the air is not wasted effort, but precisely the right manner of dreaming.  Goals and dreams should be just out of reach.  If they are already within our grasp, where is the forward movement?

In the earlier lines of the selection, Thoreau addresses exactly that concept – forward motion.  He reminds us that if we move steadfastly toward the life we have envisioned for our Self, we are indeed moving in the right direction.  It makes perfect sense.  If we imagine a better version of our Self – a better job, a smaller clothing size, a changed attitude – we must take the steps and make the changes necessary to achieve that vision.  If we do, we will surpass even our own conception of what could be.

But the vision must be the first thing in place – even if seems to have no basis in reality.  If we mean to change, to improve, we must first have an idea of what the new version is to be.  The concept is not new – others have thought and written of the same.  Have the goal in mind, then figure out the way to achieve it.  Simple.

Thoreau even tells us that if we reduce life to its simplest terms, we will be far more likely to see what steps we must take, what bricks we must lay, to put the foundation of our dreams solidly in place. Stay focused on the goal…keep an eye on the prize…never lose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel.  Keep it simple and the most complex of problems somehow give way to the clearest of solutions.

And so, I propose a mid-week re-start.  Never mind what has been.  Focus instead on what will be.  Rather than let the busy-ness of life get in the way, choose to advance confidently in the direction of dreams…endeavor to live the life imagined…and meet with unexpected and unparalleled success.

What castles have you built in the air?  What must you do to lay the foundations beneath?