Why Do We Cast Down Our Dreamers?

Sometimes I feel settling is akin to death. This is not to say that I am comparing settling to idling, my conceptualization has nothing to do with activity. My understanding of the concept leans more toward resignation than a specific state of activity. Maybe I mean that this is simply coming to a frame of mind where dreams and hope have vanished. It is the type of reasoning that concludes that because a desired outcome is unlikely, or perhaps even impossible, it is not worthy of effort. The trouble with this conclusion is that a person is basically claiming they are omniscient. During my short time in practice, I encountered this is a consistent trait with borderline personalities. The conclusion to almost every resistant conversation was some omniscient claim of future events. Yet, we all know quite well that at the very least the vast majority do not have this ability ( and I have no problem granting that some very rare psychics might). This should be a warning to the everyday Joe who is not diagnosed with a personality disorder, if you are not a psychic, and your predicting the future as if it is some certainty there is certainly an issue that needs attention.

As a result this line of reasoning leaves a person paralyzed to action, but more importantly devoid of dreams! I think we live in a culture that believes that dreams are only worthwhile if they can be accomplished, but that removes drama, fun, and transcendental nature of dreaming. In our stories we admire the folk hero that continues on in the face of dire circumstances and probable failure. We call them heroes  and yet in “real life” we chide people who dream of a better world. We use phrases such as “that would never happen”, “this is the real world” or “You’re living in a dream world”. These stock phrases are attempts to pull a human being back from the dream world. I hate to be extreme, but a person who is uttering these phrases often is probably just a coward, afraid to fail, afraid of pain, and most certainly afraid of death. Maybe there are fates worse then failure, pain and death. I think casting down our dreamers is one of those fates. Another is living a life void of dreams and hope all together. I am proud to be a dreamer, are you?