What if apart from you I could roam free; still connected to you but free from the regiments of life you have created? Where would you go, what would interest you if no one but you knew where that part could travel? A ridiculous thought, you may say; one cannot do such a thing and should not waste time trying to imagine the result! Yet this is exactly what dreams and goals are made of, the kind we all hope to create.

It is impossible to dream if we cannot eliminate the limitations that we imagine that prevent us from instantly realizing our dreams, all of them. What does this mean, where do those hopes and dreams come from anyway? They come from that part of you that is allowed to roam free to imagine what could be instead of accepting what you believe to be reality. We all come into our lives with the creative ability to dream, imagine and believe in anything that comes to mind. After all, if we can imagine it, then surely it must be possible!

Around the age of three, someone else’s reality intercepts our dreams and the constant drumbeat of ‘That’s not possible; you can’t do that, become that, or believe that. And voila, the full weight of those powerful authority figures in our lives comes crashing down on our dreams. It’s not real, they tell us, repeatedly. This continual reading about impossibilities can reshape our perception of what our future may become; suddenly our expectations merge with someone else’s and a new reality begins. ‘You must not dare to dream, that is not real and will not serve you in the future.’ In fact, parents and teachers express concern for a child who continues to dream freely.

Those who refuse to let their hopes and dreams be crushed are the heroes we read about, the people who went far beyond what anyone close to them imagined they could be. They are the best creators of new ideas, the best at scaling heights, and the most likely to be memorable to all those who have ever mocked them. Those who refuse to give up on their dreams dare to let a part of them roam free. They can never tolerate being confined by ideas that they believe do not take them to a place that can never fulfill what they instinctively know it can be. They are forced to discover new ideas, perfect new ways of doing old things, and shine light through the cracks of what is broken.

When we embrace new ideas and ways of doing things, we should stop and silently thank the dreamer behind the idea, the one who looked and said there must be a better way and set out to find it. If children only understood how their lives would change by accepting the ‘wisdom’ of the adults around them, they would never allow their hopes and dreams to be crushed.

Life begins with an innate sense of what we can become. We are interested, early in life, in things that will allow us to fulfill our potential, our life project.

Parents who are aware of this encourage their child to keep dreaming, to set goals that parents may believe their child will never be able to achieve. If your hopes and dreams have been packed away by well-meaning people who don’t understand, dare to take the time to unpack them; allow yourself to roam freely among them. You will reignite the childlike faith in what can still be a part of your life.

Blessed are the dreamers who choose to let their imagination and creativity roam free, for they will light the way ahead!