When I was in school, research papers started with a trip to the library to pull the most relevant books on a topic. I’d spend hours in the library, taking notes and cross referencing resources.
The idea that one day I might be able to just open up a computer, type in a search request, and receive all the information on a topic was inconceivable to me.
It wasn’t even a pipe dream.
If I had told someone that I wanted to live in a world where I could just press a button and receive the answer to any question in an instant, they would have told me to stop my “wishful thinking,” to stop “being delusional,” and to “get back to reality.”
Today, we live in that reality.
Our culture sends mixed messages about dreaming. On one hand, we’re encouraged to “think big” and “be innovative.” On the other hand, culture conditions us to be “productive.”
In our unending pursuit of optimal productivity, we don’t allow ourselves time for dreaming, wandering, or exploring the imaginative realm.
Dreaming is shamed as unproductive, unrealistic, and untethered from reality.
To be fair: it is.
And that’s the point.
Airplanes. Washing machines. Disney World. iPhones. iPads. The internet. Smartphones. Wearable devices. The ability to order something online and have it on your doorstep the next day. Self-driving cars. Video calls with people on the other side of the world.
These and more were once in the realm of dreams — or even things we couldn’t dare to dream.
They were delusional. Unrealistic. Untethered from reality.
Until someone dared to create space to dream them and bring them into reality.
The reality of tomorrow is created by the people who have the audacity to create space today to dream, to dive into the fairytale lands of their imaginations.
Dreams are where reality is born.
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