Moose

(don't think less of me for writing this one. But rather admire me for recognizing that inspiration is literally EVERYWHERE you turn)

Sometimes I wish I had whatever it takes to have the determination to try and try again to catch a ball in my mouth no matter how much I suck at it. I wish I slept 20 hours a day. I wish I were a dog. Along with these two admirable qualities of a dog, I find one in particular that teaches me a lesson. I wish I had the capacity to love unconditionally.

A dog will always love you. You may scold him and send him shamefully cowering away, but he will be right back in an instant. Not only will he come right back, but he will come back eager to play and cuddle. You may take away his favorite stuffed animal which he clearly loves more than anything in the world because he is tearing it to shreds, but he will curl up in your lap five minutes later without a second thought about what you did. You may step on his foot so that he yelps in pain, but he'll be right there waiting at your feet for you to throw the ball just one more time.

I realize that this sounds a little bit odd, but I mean it. A dog can forget faster than any of us. Of course, most will say that that is simply because his brain is far less complex than ours which gives him no choice because he literally forgets rather than just pushes the memory aside. But that is just the thing. We are too hung up on how we are so superior in so many ways that we lose the ability to simplify our views toward life and toward others enough to let go of our prideful feelings. If we could just realize that we are actually capable of forgetting, or if we could just realize that it really isn't that big of a deal and it will all be fine, then we would be much better off. We hold on to too much. We prevent ourselves from experiencing this adventure because we are too focused on ourselves. If we can just live in the here and now with our eyes to the future rather than living in the past with our eyes on those around us scanning to see what others think about us, then we might find a greater freedom. That will allow us to experience true love and charity. That will show us what the world full of people has to offer us.

baseball

Dreams are normally discussed in two contexts. The first happens whilst we sleep. These dreams are created by our minds in a realm that we may never grasp. Sometimes they are truly absurd. At other times they are frightening. At others they are mysterious and intriguing, or they can be heartwarming, or they can be simply entertaining. Whatever form they take, they always carry with them a certain weight of interest. What does it mean? If one's mind produced it, there must be some significance to it.



That brings me to the second way we use the term dream. This kind of dream is produced by the heart. I am speaking of the dreams that kindle our passion when we are told to 'chase our wildest dreams,' or to 'never let go of a dream'. . . or when we imagine that precious destination of 'when dreams come true.' Of course, these are the kind of dreams that can bring about great emotional anguish in response to all of those exact same addages. These dreams can produce hope. That hope can be replaced by sorrow. These dreams are something resting on the horizon waiting to be seized. They may wait there forever simply to taunt the man left to aimlessly chase. These dreams offer a man the power to define himself in any way, from the worst of terrible to the best of magnificent. They also create opportunity for a man to become lost. . . to crumble. Both of these sides of the coin can be brought to pass in either the fulfilling, or abandonment, of a dream.



So all this being said, what is a dream? This question came to my mind as I reflected on having one of my lifelong dreams shattered. . . for a second time. For most of my life I have dreamt of playing baseball at the top level of the game. At times, it seemed to be all I wanted. A few years ago, I saw that dream slip away. After becoming better through that originally supposed loss, I found the dream materializing once again. Before I knew it, that hope again rested in my sights. And today I watched it disappear rather quickly. What is it that causes a personal desire to become something that has the power to cause literal, in every sense of the word, heartache? HOPE. We build our lives around hope. A hope to have this. A hope to accomplish this. A hope to experience that. Hope is what drives us to act. If we do not hope for a specific result, we have no reason to do anything. When hope is combined with passion, a dream is formed. A concept or idea then begins to raise up, and we go with it. We ride above the earth in pursuit of that which our heart craves. We ride higher and higher until we reach the joyous safety of success or until we tumble off to an unpleasant landing of, 'not quite.' We have a tendency to put hope in anything. This habit takes us on a rollercoaster through life shooting upward only to sometimes find ourselves plummeting downward. No one will ever achieve all of their dreams. It just doesn't happen. But does that mean that we should try to avoid building hope in things. No. Because, once again, without hope, we have no reason to do anything. If we cannot put our eyes forward to something worth striving for, we cannot experience life. Hope falls. It always will, but without having it periodically pulled out from underneath us thus leaving us to smack down again on the pavement of reality, we will never know what it's like to live with your heart leading the way. That is where dreams come in. Dreams are when that hope goes beyond what sounds nice and what looks reasonable. Dreams are stretching past what seems to make sense or appears to be likely. That is where the two definitions collide. The desires of our hearts combine with the concept of the unreal to produce a dream; something that simply can't be without a little magic and a whole lot of wholehearted devotion on our parts.



Life is meant for dreaming. Dreams will drift into the distance never to be realized. But they will leave behind a mark on the pursuant. Any man who chases a dream with an honest heart and full sincerity will discover unseen treasure along that path whether or not it ends in grasping the prize. If you can't get lost in a dream, you cannot expect to find true excitement in the journey of life.