When dreams become nightmares....

Many of us have hopes and aspirations, and for some of us those develop far enough to become dreams. For some these can be as simple as being financially solvent, for others they can become much more complex, for example running ones own company, having a million opunds in the bank, having a happy and successful marriage and family life or whatever it might be. Some of us go on and achieve those dreams, sometimes through luck, sometimes through hard work and determination. Whatever the route to achieving those dreams, one would think that getting there would be the start of a period of bliss and contentment. I wonder however, just how often those dreams turn out in reality to be rather less plerasant than we anticipated. How many people have taken the big step of setting up in business for themselves, only to find that the reality of dealing with bureaucratic regulations, and finances and staff and sales and marketing and all the other headaches that come with that particular route turn that dream, which is often a dream of freedom from wage slavery into a nightmare in which one is trapped and can see no escape.

How often does what appears to be a dream relationship quickly turn sour as what were once endearing and charming characteristics become nails-down-the-blackboard spine tingling, or even worse, when that relationship becomes abusive. As a species we appear to be unique in the we strive for our dreams. We have moved beyond the immediacy of thought followed immediately by action, we do not respond simply to stimulous, we plot and plan and scheme and try to find solutions to barriers put in our way, but in so doing, I wonder if perhaps we haven't lost some of the simplicity that can actually make us happy.

There have been arguements that we are driven to have these dreams and aspirations by the media and particularly advertuising, but for me this is anj oversimplification. I am pretty much convinced that the drives which make us reach for the stars are the self same drives that encouraged us to come down from the trees and explore the savannah grasslands of African that were the birthplace of our species. They are fundamental to our evolution, but as such they should be explored and better understood in an attempt to try to create a better connection between understanding our dreams, understanding our route to achieve them and understanding that having achieved them there may be new dreams aheda, but having the capacity to enjoy the contentment of a job well done, at least for a little while....