June 19, 2007

Wishes, Dreams, and Vision

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 7:00 am

I've been thinking . . .

about wishes.

I’ve never been good at wishes. They always seemed so big.

When I was a child, I heard of wishing on birthday candles, and wishing on stars, and three wishes that are in fairy tales. My cousins would on twisting the stem of an apple — a person had to twist it just the right way, just the right amount, and said just the right words.

A thought of a wish opened a universe that stunned me with wonder. . . . IMy mind wouldn’t interrupt. . . . I’d lose myself in infinite possibility and thoughts in color.

I never knew what to wish for. It wasn’t a lack of imagination. It was incomprehension.

When I went to college, no one wished anymore, they had dreams. Dreams seemed to come to me more easily.

Dreams were more grounded, but without strong wishing experience. I was a dreaming novice. I imagined a dream house — it ended up being three. I dreamed a life. When I was done, I had 23 unique and complicated scenarios, each complete with scenery and plot lines.

I’ve never been good at dreams. Well, I’m only good at them in the way that dreamers dream, which is having lots and lots of them — not one big one.

In my career I uncovered a vision. I had one without trying. It was a dream on the horizon of my life. Yeah, right there where I can see it.

I put a dream on the horizon. I see it in perfect vision. Each day I look out at it and think about the steps to how I’ll get there. Everything, everyday gets me closer.

Like a pilot flying from NYC to LA, I am off course most of the way, but I’m adjusting every minute. I get there eventually, and that vision shows me what the next vision is.

I wish I knew that from the beginning.

All of those wishes on stars could have been the start of a vision.

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16 Comments to “Wishes, Dreams, and Vision”

  1. June 19th, 2007 at 7:04 am
    Karin H. said

    Morning Liz

    Your ‘travels’ made me smile. I’ve got consolation for you though:
    in order to see those stars you need a visor (and if you go back to the beginning both vision and visor come from the same Latin word). So there you go: you knew at the beginning ;-)

    I dream and I wish and they help me reach my vision, never sure what was/is there first.

    Karin H. (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specailly in business)

  2. June 19th, 2007 at 7:10 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin!
    The vision has me in it working and thinking toward it. The dream is something out there. I have to get lucky to have my dreams come true. I don’t have total control of dreams. Wishes are things that luck, rich people. and fairy godmothers “grant” us.

    That’s how those words are commonly used when I see them.

  3. June 19th, 2007 at 7:19 am
    Karin H. said

    Hi Liz

    I’m ‘wired’ differently. I dream (not just at night - I love dreams at night, great ’sounding-boards’ - day dreams are little rest periods or even focus points). Wishes are hopes, but more than just hoping for, sometimes they instigate a thought process towards a new vision.
    And visions: dreams, wishes and focus brought together.

    But then again: this is said by a very practical double Capricorn ;-)

    Karin H.

  4. June 19th, 2007 at 7:25 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Karin,
    I love the way words form how we think abuot ideas and how we what we learn forms our ideas and the words we use. :)

    Same words with slightly different meanings — it’s no wonder humans have a problem communicating. :)

  5. June 19th, 2007 at 7:28 am
    Karin H. said

    Nah, no wonder humans are so varied and so wonderful complex.
    All it takes is a bit a patience, practice and willingness to hear/learn - and to accept the differences in between.

    Karin H.

  6. June 19th, 2007 at 7:40 am
    Ramkarthik said

    Liz,
    If Im asked to wish for something I would ask for more number of wishes. I just can’t wish about a single thing. I do dream a lot. We have to dream big so that we can at least some part of it. If we dream of small things we won’t get any. Maybe few people get things even without dreaming. But if you are dreaming something big, then the dream itself will guide you to reach it. We should not only dream but also act. If we don’t do the later, former is out of reach to us.

  7. June 19th, 2007 at 8:06 am
    ME Strauss said

    Karin,
    I so love the hope and faith in your message. It’s a wonderful philosophy.

  8. June 19th, 2007 at 8:09 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Ram,
    I think your dreams sound so wonderful. Hold onto them. Practice dreaming every night and day.

    Your dreams are my visions. I need a vision — to see my dreams to act. :)

  9. June 19th, 2007 at 8:10 am
    Jesse Petersen said

    To me, the difference between “wish” and “dream” is another wordsmithing thing in my head that distingushes them.

    I see them as without and with faith, in that order. Faith, described as “hopeful expectation.” Those two words are a few volumes by themselves. How can you be hopeful AND expecting at the same time?

    I’m not sure how *you* do it, but for me, it’s as easy as expecting that I will make it to work okay, or enjoy a nice meal with my wife when I get home. I have no present proof that either will happen in the future, so I hope for them, but I have nothing to suggest that I shouldn’t expect them.

    Dreaming is faith-full to me. I dream of things that are not yet, but there is no reason to expect that I can’t get/achieve/arrive at something. I don’t dream too big, but I also try to not dream to the extent of turning it into a wish.

    Don’t we all wish we could have no worries, pain, trouble? Then again, how realistic is that? Do you expect them? No. That is why it is wishful to me, not dreaming.

  10. June 19th, 2007 at 9:04 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Jesse,
    “Hopeful expectation” sure does carry so much meaning. I agree, they speak volumes. I wish dreams could be that for me. (Ha! Look at what I wrote there. :) )

    “faith-full” How lovely!

    Your thoughts are fine and genuine. :)

  11. June 19th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
    John Benage said

    Whew!! There is way too much here for me. A treatise may well be appropriate. But, allow me this one observation:

    From a 1960’s song lyric, “Just wishin and hopin and plannin and dreamin won’t get you into his heart…So if you’re wonderin how true love is; all you gotta do is hold him and squeez him and love him…wear your hair just for him, do the dance he likes to do…just do it, and after you do, you will be his…”

    -Nike must have heard that song.

    -Lyrics are a bit sexist as well but, it was the 1960’s.

    Now, go to the other side of the court and you find an observation we often used to open individual development seminars:

    “Most people aim at nothing in life and hit it with amazing accuracy.”

    Happy ponder,
    John

  12. June 19th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi John!
    I know that song and I realize the time it was written in. You make a lovely point that wishes and dreams need our feet and hands and minds and hearts working to make them happen. :)

  13. June 19th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
    Lior said

    Hi Liz,
    Lovely post!! This is my favorite topic and focus for the past year while building http://www.wishood.com/ - a place where people grant wishes for each other – my vision ;-).

    Wish is a big word and people comprehend it differently. For many ‘what do you wish for?’ is not a trivial question to answer. I think you gave here a very clever interpretation and a useful one too.
    One way or another we all wish - to have/know/do/be/become/change… Recognizing our wishes, writing them down is a first important step that orients us toward fulfillment. When we share our wishes we enable others to grant them for us.. even partway.

    Thanks for your insight!
    Best wishes,
    Lior

  14. June 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Lior,
    Actually it was the many wish blogs and projects that I see around me that led me to write this entry. I am beginning to feel overwhelmed a world that is wishing so much and folks who want us to take up their wishes.

    I think your vision is a wonderful thing and I wish that all of your dreams happen in the best way possible! :)

  15. June 29th, 2007 at 9:00 am
    Markius said

    I was a ‘wisher’ most of my life. I wished I had this, wished for some different situation, wished I was more like…wish, wish, wish.

    I was a dreamer, too. Actually, that was not really true; I fantasized. I wanted, but without vision.

    Now, I’m a ‘doer’. About 2 years ago I began changing myself from the inside out. I turned my life upside down and inside out to create the ‘me’, the life, I envisioned for myself.

    And now, I’m following my own visions. The kind that start from dreams and are focused. With my life, my work and my heart.

    I’m ready to make a difference; for me, for those I love and those lives I WILL touch.

    And, if you’re interested, you can see them becoming reality. http://www.happyposts.com

    Thanks for all you put into this blog. You have inspired so many to be more (better, focused, ourselves).

  16. June 29th, 2007 at 10:16 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Markius!
    Welcome to Successful Blog! Your background in getting to your vision sounds a lot like mine. But then you knew that. :)

    Thank you for your comment. It’s always fun to hear from someone who’s been down a similar road.

    You’re not a stranger anywmore. :)

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