Living the Dream
An original poem
Whenever I ask people how they are doing, a typical reply is that they’re “living the dream!” My response, accompanied by a smile, is to ask them if they’re living their dream or someone else’s dream.
It’s a good question to ponder.
Many people are driven to set goals, make plans, and work hard to achieve outcomes that will lead to living a life they’ve always dreamed of living. Traveling down a specific path doesn’t always lead to the life we want to live. We often discover a startling, unwelcome truth during our journey. We are pawns trapped on another person’s chess board, existing solely to fulfill their dreams at the expense of our own.
Living the dream is a good thing — if you’re living your dream. That’s the inspiration behind my latest poem.
“Living the dream!” An upbeat response, given to a basic greeting question, invites a second two-part question. Are you living your dream? or living someone else's dream? Free will is a pure illusion, while trapped inside a complex maze running a predetermined route observed by omniscient, scornful eyes. Hope is a fleeting mirage, while flailing like a puppet on stage controlled by invisible strings, guided by cruel, arbitrary hands. Knowledge is a faded vision, while programmed like a computer given mundane tasks to complete, imagined by cunning, tyrannical minds. “Living the dream!” An impossible fantasy sidesteps a basic greeting question, invites a second two-part question. Can you live your dream? while living someone else's dream?
Did you enjoy this poem? Check out my other poetry in the Strange New Worlds archives.
A good poem, with a question that always creates an inner conflict (for me). On the one hand, every human being has their own dreams they'd like to see made real, and I think most of us are at least a little repulsed at the thought of giving up our own dreams to help someone else achieve theirs. On the other hand, I feel selfish when I single-mindedly put my own ambition before the interests of everyone else, and part of me argues that compromise - a willingness to invest in someone else's passion - is an essential part of human coexistence.
Parentage is a good "devil's-advocate" here. Any father/mother must necessarily give up some of their time (time they could spend on their own dreams) to nurture the dreams of their children. No one I know would call those people fools though, they'd call it an essential part of being a parent.
It's a hard balance to strike; satisfying pursuit of one's own dreams; selfless support of family, or friends, or community.
Thank you for this piece! Clearly it got my mind-cogs turning...