The Power of Small Dreams

I’ve really wanted to write a blog or a book or maybe a Facebook post about daring to “Dream Small”.

I know that there is a lot of hype out there about ‘Dreaming BIG!!!” (Exclamation points included for free!!!) You’ve all heard it, haven’t you? The counsel to cultivate a humongous idea, a brainstorm of epic proportions, the next genius 25 step program to instant health, wealth, and happiness, the next over-the-top marriage proposal, viral YouTube stunt, etc., etc. They are all over the place these days. Companies, celebrities, politicians, and marketers who promise that if you can just want something bad enough, or create a disharmony within your soul around what you don’t have right now, it will naturally pull you into the gravity of your HUGE DREAM!! Because you can’t possibly be happy “right now” or else you wouldn’t need their product, right?

I’m not here to denigrate or dismiss the power of a dream. Everyone needs to have a dream for what they want their future to be, it’s what pulls us forward into action.

However, I really think our over-emphasis on DREAMING BIG (all caps, cheer squad enthusiasm included free of charge!!) can be a huge disservice to people who are so tunnel visioned on their dream that they miss the small dreams that are coming true around them everyday. It can make a person blind to the treasures, gifts, and miracles that are surrounding them right now.

All those “Dream Small” things.

Like:

A warm home.
A soft bed.
A safe community.
A hand to hold as you drift off to sleep.
A child to hug you and say “You’re the best Mommy ever”, even though she’s 14 and you didn’t know that adoration could last so long.
A bowl of warm, spiced oatmeal that makes you think of your own mother, who you miss so much, and the fragrant sweetness that warms your heart and feels like one of her hugs, given from the inside out.
A love note from your husband for no other reason than he actually loves you.
Pansies blooming on the front porch.
A hairy dog waking you up because she’s just SO EXCITED to play with you.
Cold ice cream on a hot summer evening, when you have to race the heat to get all the ice cream in your mouth instead of on your fingers.
A thunderstorm that rages overhead while a hundred thousand fireflies echo the flashing lights from the pasture.
Sons who still hug you and want to be around you enough that they say “Hey mom, come workout with me!”
A warm cup of hibiscus tea to sip while you visit with friends and share both smiles and sadness to lighten the load of living.
Waking up without pain.
Waking up with pain, but still celebrating the gift of waking up.
The answer to a prayer that comes when you least expected it and your whole life suddenly feels right on track, no matter how difficult the way before you might be.
The small moments of encouragement and compassion that raise a child from an infant to an adult who is also capable of encouraging and comforting others.

Or a thousand other “small dreams” that can often be taken for granted by a society that preaches the false idea that if it isn’t BIG it doesn’t count.

I had a nice woman come to my home one day and try to sell me on a miracle product that was going to revolutionize my health and make me wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. She asked me “if you could envision your dream home, what would it be?” She leaned forward eagerly and I told her the absolute truth. “This IS my dream home.” I could see her glance around the walls of my little farmhouse. I’m sure it didn’t look like a dream home to her. Toys on the floor, old furniture that I’d covered with homemade quilts, paneling that I’d disguised with a sunny, yellow paint. She sort of grimace smiled and said “Okay… But isn’t there anything else you want?” I told her “Well, I’d probably buy more land if I could.” I’m sure I was her worst contact. How could she convince me that her miracle product and pyramid platform was going to save me from the awful life I had if I didn’t actually think it was awful? It was a conundrum for both of us. She couldn’t see what was so great about a crooked little farm house and a big red barn, and I couldn’t understand how she didn’t see the absolute WONDER of it all.

I believe in celebrating the small dreams. The daily proof of lifelong love, not the despair of unfulfilled longing. The everyday chores, the ones people call drudgery, that lead to a family at peace. The small, simple acts of faithful, marital devotion that lead to a fire of passion that burns so bright it warms everyone around it.

These are my “small dreams”. These are the little things that make life wonderful. These are my miracles.

I have some big dreams in there too. They are kind of like the mountain destination on a summer road trip. They are where I’m headed, but they aren’t the only thing I see, nor are they the only stop on my route. The vision right here beside me, all around me, and within me is a remarkably beautiful place to be.

Dream Small today.

Kiss your sweetheart like you mean it. Hug your kids and don’t let go until you know they know they’re loved. Plant a flower, feed the birds, walk barefoot on the Earth, sing a song, and smile at a stranger.

Sometimes realizing a dream is all about having the eyes to see that it’s already come true.