Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
Harriet Tubman

 

I love that quote by Harriet Tubman.  It says so much, with a few words. I am a self-proclaimed Dreamer. I even state that in my ‘About’ page. I am a dreamer of dreams. I always will be. I am proud to be a dreamer. Without us, where would the world be? To have great inventions, great ideals, great works of art, and yes great books. There must be a dreamer behind it.

I had a short conversation with a fellow blogger about being a dreamer the other day. It got me to thinking, which I do occasionally. My friend Managua Gunn over at A Pirate’s Haven (visit his wonderful blog, please)  is also a dreamer. We both have gotten into  trouble  over that. Some people don’t understand dreamers. I know I have been misunderstood all my life, because I dream.

I dream wide awake. I can sit for hours and look out a window and dream of far away places of mystery. Places I have never been,  except in my mind. I make  up stories of what happens in those mysterious places. The people, the culture, the beauty and the differences. I have people do  certain things in my dreams and sit back and see what happens afterwards. It’s fun to see how things turn out. Of course I was the only one who saw this. Then I started writing.

I’ve been writing for almost as long as I’ve been reading, but not for as long as I’ve been dreaming. When I discovered that I could write those dreams down, that I could write what happens to my characters in my dreams. Put them in certain situations and write how they sorted through  the mess  I put them in. It was then I found my love of writing. No one ever saw those writings. They were personal, they were mine. And quite frankly after being told all my life that a dreamer never amounted to anything, I was terrified of  putting my writings out there for people to read.

Are dreams and imagination the same? Well let’s see. The definition of a dreamer is;

1. a person who lives in or escapes to a world of fantasy or illusion; escapist. A person who is unpractical or idealistic.

An imagination is  defined as;

1. The faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses: “a vivid imagination”.
2. The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.

Is there really a difference? A dreamer is a person who has the faculty of forming new ideas, images or concepts! So the difference between the two is,  the dreamer is the person,  the imagination is what drives a dreamer. So why is being a dreamer considered a bad thing by some people? One is a person, the other is an action. So therefore I consider myself a person of action!

I’m sure my mother, my ex, and a select few  others would disagree with me. And that’s okay. Now that I have found blogging (yeah I’m a late bloomer) I have found another outlet for my dreams. I am also a whole lot braver, because with this blog I put those stories out there for others to read and critique. But you know what? That doesn’t scare me anymore. Because Dreamers have that bravery. They are more then willing to put their dreams out there for others to see and hopefully we dreamers can fuel some others into becoming Dreamers  with us.

We can’t ever have enough dreamers. That is what is makes this world a beautiful place. Some dreamers might have similar ideas, but it’s how those ideas are dreamt that makes them all unique. And dreamers have passion and strength. We don’t give up on our dreams, we keep plugging at it.

My dream is  to become the best dreamer I can, and to have my imaginings out where others can enjoy them as much as I do. For people who love to read, to dream, to imagine with me. Thanks for reading my picture of words. Thanks for letting me dream a little for you.