Don't Tread on My Dreams

As a child, when adults would be talking about business, I misheard a well-known quote. I thought people were saying, "It is a doggy-dog world." I would envision all kinds of nice business people walking down Wall Street, tipping their hats and saying hello. They would be holding their cute canines on a leash that were wagging their tails, bouncing around, being happy and ever so doggy. Boy, when I grew up, I just knew me and some lucky puppy would be moving to New York City.

Later in life, I found out that people were really saying, "It is a dog-eat-dog world." What?! That is disgusting and just so horrible. Why would dogs want to eat each other and who would want to be in that world? No! No! No! It had to be a lie.

Finding out the brutal truth and experiencing disappointments is something that just keeps happening as we transition through life. We learn Santa isn't real. We catch our parents putting money under our pillows in exchange for our teeth. We have to tie our own shoes. We have to do homework. Our play time gets shorter and shorter. Next thing we know, we're in high school, preparing for college which prepares us to actually have to work and then pay for our own stuff? That is so not exciting or very much fun. I'd rather just play on the playground and have summer vacation. Forever.

Luckily, most of us are born with coping skills that allow us to accept small tragedies that are included in the growing up process and move on. That doesn't mean our lives can't be amazing! If only we could keep that innocent idea that anything is possible, while keeping it real.

Why can't we?

There's a little thing I like to call energy. It is in our hearts, our minds, our bodies and our souls. We have it around us too. And we put it out there into a little thing called the universe and we project it onto other people.

There is negative energy and there is positive energy. We can't fake it people! The universe knows all. And so do people. Has anybody ever walked up to you and their energy was so hideous that you took a step back? Then there are others who practically have light surrounding them and you're drawn to them like a magnet?

It is a pretty simple theory. What we put out is what we get back - kind of like a boomerang. If we put out there that we'll never succeed and that our life sucks, that's pretty much a given. Everything catches up to us one way or another.

If we put out there that we are people who want love, fun, happiness and an awesome life, it will happen. Ever have just a really, really, really awful day and dwelled on all the bad things happening? Did your day get worse and worse? Guess what? You attracted it by thinking all kinds of bad thoughts. Don't be mad at the universe, it just thought that you wanted more sucky things to happen to you.

Don't get me wrong - really awful things happen. Our car stalls in the middle of rush-hour traffic. Relationships end and our hearts break. We get our butts chewed out by our boss. People die who weren't supposed to leave us. Those are just other things we have to face no matter how much we don't want to.

Bad things happen, but bad thoughts hurt our mind and body. Luckily, everything can be turned around. The more positive thoughts we have, the more good things come to us. And our hearts feel better. And our minds feel better. And our bodies feel better. And we attract great things, and that opens up a path to find what we’re really looking for.

Not everything is going to be delivered to us immediately or even exactly how we want, but if we truly have these dreams and we can see them in our mind, why would we not think they could happen?

BEWARE! There are people out there who don't want to see anybody be happy. There are joy stealers, dream crushers and hope haters. They cut us off as we’re sharing exciting news. They believe that everything is impossible. They have no faith in those tiny miracles that sometimes really do happen.

People are so reckless with each other's dreams. They've lost their faith and they forgot what it was like to be a kindergartener when we all were certain that we'd become astronauts, ballerinas or billionaires.

But we dreamers are guilty too. It is so easy to let somebody take things away from us. I've watched my big ideas die in a meeting room. I've been too scared to share something monumental for fear of it being rejected. I've run away from great things because I didn't believe in myself. I've listened to negative people and let them talk me out of things I thought I believed in. Maybe I've even done the same thing to another person.

Let's make a pact to be kinder to each other's dreams. Would you really want to tell a kindergartener that he or she couldn't be great when they grew up? That they weren't the most amazing little person ever? That they couldn't go to the Moon if they really, really believed hard enough? That the world is full of dogs that eat each other?

Think of other people's thoughts, words, actions and hopes to be as pure as a five year old's. Put both of your dreams in the palm of your hand, handle with care, believe in them, send them off into the universe and watch them take flight.

Next thing you know, you’re strolling down the street with a new attitude and the life you always hoped for, tipping your hat as you pass people by, feeling absolutely doggy.

Guest blogger: Mandy Stark, misslou20@aol.com

Mandy Stark is a graduate of Florida A&M University's School of Journalism and Graphic Design, is an Advertising and Publications Specialist for the Florida League of Cities and is a freelance writer.