Dream...But Don't Sleep

Langston Hughes asked it best:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
Like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore--
And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

--Dreams Deferred by Langston Hughes

What do you think happens when your dreams are put on hold? It happens to all of us. Whether it is for school, a job, or even family, we all sacrifice our dreams in some way just to make it through the daily grind. But given that life sometimes forces us to put our dreams aside, does this mean we should let them die?

I must admit, it’s hard to stay passionate about something that’s always pushed onto the back burner. For me, I struggle with becoming an entrepreneur. Should I resign from my day job and put 100% of my time into running my own business? Or should I get my head out of the clouds and continue on the road I’ve started? I fight with these questions all the time.

For anyone, I think that if the dream is worth dreaming, it’s not a matter of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN. This goes for myself too. Who cares if I have to wait a few years to actively pursue my dream? If I'm really on fire about it, I won’t let it rot or sag. It will eventually explode into greatness and success. And just think, if you're not passionate enough about your dreams to the point that they"ll explode if ever placed on hold, how could we expect people to believe in us?

This is why I really like the quote, “dream but don’t sleep.” For me it means, if your dreams have been deferred, keep dreaming. Work towards them little by little until reality allows them to manifest, or like Langston Hughes writes, explode. Don’t simply have a dream and sleep on it because by the time you wake up life will have passed us all by.

What do you think happens to a dream deferred?

--Kyle Holland
Brownstone Team