“If I could turn back time, if I could find a way,” are words sung by Cher that define the essence of daydreams. Those words describe the dual purpose of reaching back to the past and looking forward to the future. That is what daydreaming is all about. What daydreams say about you, or anyone, is that we all look at the past with nostalgia and to the future with hope.
Daydreaming is a wonderful escape from the trials and tribulations of the present. It offers the opportunity to go beyond the boundaries and constraints of current circumstances, whatever they may be. It relieves stress and releases creativity. At least, that is what daydreaming does for me. So it says about me that I need to enter another sphere of being, one which allows the imagination free reign, in order to make sense of the now and to become more creative.
When I look back, I feel many regrets for what I did not do. One such regret is that, when talking with my mother in the years before she died, I never wrote down all she told me. I dream that her stories would keep her alive for many more people than me, her only child. Such daydreams tell me I value the past, that history is important, as are the people who made it. I suffer regrets, but not in any detrimental way. I wish, but I accept. I am a realistic dreamer, where nostalgia is concerned.
My “find a way” daydreams are rather more adventurous and surreal. They include a castle in Spain, writing a blockbuster, best-selling book, running a family commune in the sun somewhere. If I combine those elements, my daydreams say that I want to be rich, famous, warm and most of all, to provide for my family. If I sold a great book, I would be rich, then I could buy that Spanish castle plus lots of dwellings for my family – and surround them all in warmth and sunshine.
My daydreams are full of hope for the future, despite the fact that they may never come true. However, even indulging in such fantasies promotes creative thinking. I see the endless possibilities, I wish to share, I have ambitions. My daydreaming tells me that I believe in the potential for good things happening sometime. There may be a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, and if there is not, then another rainbow is bound to come along. That, I suppose, suggests I am an optimist.
Finally, I have to say that thinking about this title has let me take an honest look at myself. My daydreams say I am a realist, with a soft heart and a lot of optimism. A dreamer whose optimism may one day turn dreams into reality. Daydreamers are in excellent company. It was by extending themeselves beyond the realms of normal, accepted wisdom, that the greatest minds in history achieved so much. Imagine the world without a Charles Darwin, an Einstein, or indeed, a Martin Luther King. Today, the dreams of that beautiful dreamer, Dr. Martin Luther King, are on the way to becoming reality. The message must be to carry on daydreaming, for you just never know what you can accomplish that way.
