What Dreams May Come

I wish Ben, the winner of this year's X-Factor, all the best.  I'm sure he's not ignorant to the many shattered dreams of other 'winners' scattered before him as he walks the perilous path set out before him by mogul Simon Cowell.  For all the pomp and pumped fists I don't envy the next 12 months of his life which could either see some of his dreams of being a musician come true or all his nightmares of being another puppet, with his strings cut, horribly take centre stage.

That's the thing about having dreams, you have to handle them with care.  I don't believe big dreamers are vulnerable, vague people; to dream big takes courage.  The dreams they cradle though, they are vulnerable and can evaporate like the images in your mind as you wake.  Just as the images that seemed so real and solid as we slept become frustrating to remember when we wake, so the ambitions and desires we have for our lives can be hard to hold on to and bravery to keep pushing for them, working for them and crying for them must remain.

I dream of being a professional writer.  I dream of being an author of published novels.  I dream that what I write will be appreciated by as many people as possible.  Such dreams take patience though.  I guess the X-Factor saddens me because it upholds the illusion of instant everything.  In a matter of weeks you can go from zero to hero.  Easy.  Sign up and be the star in 2015.  Fame and fortune just around the corner.  Any creative soul with integrity knows that the love you have for music, writing and art usually comes at a price and is far from instant.  I have enough rejection letters to know what it means to be patient.

It's getting a balance with your dreams.  It's daring to dream like a child where anything is possible but having the pragmatism to work your fucking arse off to get there.  I have written a novel whilst working full-time as a restaurant manager.  That's not easy.  It's even harder when you're doing it without any idea as to whether it will even be published.  I did it because I love to write and I love to pour my dreams on to paper.

If you're dreaming of something, keep going.  Do it with integrity though because stepping over others potentially destroys yours and their dreams in the process.

Peace.   x