By Douglas Clark
Do dreams have an expiration date? How do we know if and when
we have devoted more than we should to a dream not yet realized? What a
terrible and practical question posed against such a wondrous and uplifting
things such as a dream. I guess for me a reality check every once in a while
towards my dreams is necessary. That check is a gauge in assessing just how
successful I've been at reaching for that goal, or more specifically, taking
stock in what I've actually done to accomplish that dream.
Specifically my dream of becoming a published writer is
still up in the air. Granted, my thesis is in the University Library and I have
all of my blog posts. But let's face it; that is nothing compared to my novel
being published by a big name publisher like Simon & Schuster. So I'm not
officially published yet. And it has taken me years to get this far. So do I
give up on my dreams? What I've noticed is not so much the time it's taken but
the effort to get published in that time. Fact is, I could be submitting more,
I could be soliciting more advice, searching for editors, submitting more, (yes
I am repeating myself) but I haven’t been doing all that.
So no, I don't give
up on my dream. I re- focus, because just writing is not enough. For any
writer, writing is vital and should always take an important role, obviously.
But the constant effort to market and draw attention to my work as a writer
must also take center-stage. To that end I’ve started investigating
self-publishing to get the ball rolling. You see, I’m trying something
different. And that’s very important.
My dreams are certainly different than yours. Each dream
needs to be championed or it will forever remain an unrealized Spectre. The
dreamer, if he or she truly wants that dream to manifest itself, owes it to themselves
to do it with vigorous abandon. You might think, “no one cares about my dreams”
and you're probably right. Well almost right, You care about your dreams. So
you have to be the one to nurture, care for, and champion them.
That reality check I was mentioning earlier, it's not an
excuse to give up on your dreams and let them die. It's not a waste of time
either. New direction and invigorated effort can be the jolt a dream needs to
get going and build momentum towards a joyous day when you can say, “I did it”,
and mean it. It’s the effort that counts. Langston Hughes asked, what happens
to a dream deferred. Well I would say don't defer it. Champion it! Demand it!
Make it happen. Don't abandon your dreams. Give them wings to fly.
Thanks for reading.
Questions and comments welcome.
