When You Lose Your Dreams, You Die

 Strong statement.

I read it in an e-mail forward I received this week about living life to the fullest. I have lived by that idea for as long as I can remember. I actually said I would die for theater twice in conversation this week. It sounds so melodramatic but in my heart and soul the meaning and sub-text is clear. I have a strong passion for theater. It keeps me going every day. Even when I have an off day, my dreams and passion bring me back to the present.  

Every so often, or rather, more often than I would like to admit, I have to step out of reality and enliven my imagination.  The situation at hand need not be psychoanalyzed by moi. I need to walk away and think outside of the box. Once I do that,  I am almost always able to move forward with the task at hand. Sometimes we feel that dreams have to be lofty and grandiose but they really don’t. They can be as simple as paying off a credit card, taking a class, or even sitting on a beach writing poetry (that’s one of my dreams).

 This week I was given the challenge to choose a goal and then use all five senses to envision it. Visualization, simply defined, is positive thinking. However, if you go deeper, it’s having the desire for something and then visualizing it over and over again using all of our senses. A good example of this technique is Jim Carrey’s story. He wrote a check to himself for $10,000,000.00 for acting services rendered, gave himself a 5 year deadline and then kept it in his wallet.  He would park on Mulholland Drive, look over Hollywood and visualize his passion to be a movie star. All the while hustling and working toward his dream. Five years later, his dream became a reality and received he received $10, 000, 000.00 for his work on Dumber and Dumber.

 We often hear of these stories and they seem so far-fetched but I have actually used this technique. About a year ago, I was going through a rough time. I knew that I had to make a job change in order to further my dream of doing theater as my career.  I gave myself one year to find this mystery job. I knew I wanted to change my work environment, make more money and satisfy a personal desire. I started to visualize and believe that the next phase of my life would begin soon. I was also extremely grateful. Within four months my current job presented itself. Sometimes it’s not that fast. My life-long dream of being on Broadway takes time. That’s a bigger nut to crack.

Everyone should dream. Life is an expression of what you believe. I truly believe that it’s never too late to do what you want to do.  And it is always good to have something that burns inside you that keeps you alive.