no milk today

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Anatole France, dreams, hopes, hopes and dreams, miscellaneous, music, quotes, random, songs

No milk today, which means no porridge and that means not a very happy start to this cold morning. It may not be the end of all my hopes and dreams as in that famous Herman Hermits song but it doesn’t make the day look too promising either.

As I rummaged around for something to eat and then stood waiting for a slightly stale bagel to pop out of my toaster my mind pondered what hopes and dreams I do have for the day. Nothing as big as saving the world, finding the cure for cancer or campaigning for world peace seem to be on the top of my list, but the hope that I will find the time to buy milk does seem to outrank everything else, closely followed by the dream of a little more sleep.

Of course I hope that my students will learn something today, that what I have to say sticks and that maybe, just maybe it may change their future, get them that job them hope for, spark an idea for a future they dream about or even just help them pass the course, the year, their degree.

My bigger hopes and dreams seem to be on the back burner for the day, patiently waiting for me to find a little bit more time to pursue them, but constantly reminding me with fleeting ideas and nagging thoughts that they are there and won’t be forgotten. After all what would we be without dreams that make us aspire and hopes that drive us on? As the Parisian noble prize winner, journalist and poet Anatole France once said so well:

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream: not only plan but also believe

So I will plan to go to the shops and believe I will find the time and tomorrow my day will start with hot porridge again, a dream I know I can achieve today, making everything else seem  little bit more possible.

 

waking up is hard to do

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alarm, alarm clock, dreams, energy, health, hopes and dreams, ideas, Lady and the Tramp, love, power resources, random, reality, rooster, size siz, sleep, thoughts, unrealistic idea, waking-up

This morning when my alarm-clock tore me out of my dreams with its rooster cry, waking up was hard to do. My bed was so warm and cosy that I found it very hard to get up, so I pressed snooze a few times. As I was lying in bed, hovering somewhere between dreams and reality, I couldn’t help but wonder: why is it that I find it hard to get to sleep at night but when the new day calls I try to ignore it with every fiber of my being?

At some point between the second and third snooze it occurred to me that life can be like that too. Letting go of ideas, hopes and dreams can be hard, we hang on to them and fight anyone or anything that tries to persuade us to open our eyes and see reality. And no matter how loud the rooster cry we just keep following them, ignoring what could even be in our best interest.

Maybe giving-up on dreams and goals isn’t really the issue, maybe it’s that we have become so use to following them, that we can’t imagine it any other way. A bit like that crush we have on a someone we will never date, we know we will never have a  Lady and the Tramp moment with them, yet not pining seems so empty. So we keep our un-reciprocated love alive and nurture it, instead of going on a date with a real possibility.

Around the fourth barnyard call I realised that by not getting up I was actually wasting quite a lot of energy by just staying put and trying to keep on dreaming. Instead of using my depleted power-resources to get moving and start the day, make some tea to help with my alertness, I was lingering in a state of tiredness, yet not really sleeping to overcome it. So like that unrealistic idea of wearing a size six dress or becoming a superstar I was frittering away time and exerting myself for something that wasn’t doing me any good and felt quite frustrating.

When I finally gave in to Mr Cock-a-doodle-do, I let go of the idea of sleep and let my dreams evaporate into nothingness, focusing on a new day and what it may bring. Luckily with sleep we know a new night will come with Mr Sandman and his sack full of dreams in its wake, in life it’s not quite so easy.  When we give up on a dream we need to feel good about it, we need to be happy with the decision, and sometimes new dreams and ideas aren’t in the wings ready and waiting. So while it isn’t a good idea to keep following something that will never happen, letting go should only be done with a happy heart leaving us free and energized for something new.

For now I will hold on to my cup of tea and sort through my bag of dreams later, I need all my energy to just make some toast, get through the day and dream of a good nights sleep.