DREAMS by Paul Soto Life never seems to satisfy the realities that we live within. Worlds of expectations, hopes, and fantasies are constantly thought of and experienced simultaneously with our physical experiences. Pensive mornings on pasture grasses are cubicle daydreams. Eternal love is constructed and is allowed to bloom through silent lunches and momentary empty distractions. But we always come back to our du-
Secret of life? Keep your receipts.
ties, our physical circumstances, with a seasoned dismissal of the pleasure that we have just abandoned. One of the main troubles we face in our perpetual strides for happiness and satisfaction is the great marginalization between our internal desires and the external desires which we prioritize and value much more. Though these external desires seem more fulfilling in their tangibility, the intangibility of our inner dreams has much more resonance and value in achieving our true, unadulterated happiness. Through our experiences as social beings, we become accustomed and groomed to contribute not only to our community and society, but to ourselves financially as well. Though this constructed predetermination is beneficial in achieving stability and progress within a civilization, the superficial goals and external expectations become so overbearing in their control of our perception of purpose that we may not even realize the monopoly itself. Sit down and look away for a second. Think of your internal desires, recall the thoughts that transcend physical objectives and are emotional and spiritual in their state. Recollect your childhood dreams that remained with you as you grew older, summon your recurring fantasies and write them down, analyze them. It should not be a surprise for you to find out that your dreams are thoughts and nothing more.
Once one’s desires can be truly analyzed and not just visualized one can see their spiritual purpose with much more clarity. With this refined Rosetta stone of our inner wishes, we may begin to evaluate the relevance of these dreams in our real lives. However, we must not haste in our pursuits. Through time and with the application of logic, we will begin to find ways to bring these dreams into actuality. One’s lifelong dream to pursue paleontology can be transformed into seminar visits and dig site volunteering. Another’s longing for a perfect romance may begin writing a love novel entirely for fun and begin to settle into the eyes of their characters. As each day passes with similar tones and rewards us mostly with momentary rewards, our dreams become reduced to momentary corners of days; glimpses into the mind’s romanticism. Though we may never fully externalize our internal dreams into actuality, it is a spiritual duty for us to evaluate what they are, in order to realize the core of these dreams in some way or another. The more the gap between inner and outer dreams narrow, the happier we will become and we will find the equilibrium that is essential to our condition today; the balance of internal and external fulfillment and the realization of our dreams.
parseltongue, 2012
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