One thing that is critical to a satisfying life is to have dreams. Without dreams, we would certainly never hope to find our true place in this world.

For most of us, the path to our destination in life is never a straight one. We go down one path and eventually find it is the wrong one, we turn around and go back to try a different one. I have done that many times, but maybe even sadder, I have not done as often as I hoped.

In my dreams, I am an adventurous soul who goes where no one else dares. But, in reality, I spent far too much time overthinking almost everything. I’m sure some of this is due to my Aspie traits, and another is my deafness. I just see too many roadblocks. Who would hire a weird deaf guy? Looking back, I am truly grateful that my employer of 30 years could continue to see the value I gave to the company even when I couldn’t. For the last ten years, I was finally where I wanted to be.

Dreaming is definitely an asset in life, but dreams without action is kinda like “faith without works” in the religious realm. If you claim to be a Christian, but then disregard all the teachings Jesus gave you about living like a Christian, you are worse than a hypocrite.

Finally, I want to make sure you know that dreaming is not limited just major life changes. It is more often about how you choose to spend your life on a day-to-day basis. I have always been somebody with more than my share of empathy, who is constantly looking for ways to help others. So, when I dreamed in that realm, I ended up spending ten years of my retirement life volunteering in a soup kitchen/shelter. Being there were some of my happiest memories.

But, then again, most of the previous words in this post are not really that important. It’s the journey that matters, not so much the destination. The ultimate destination for all of us is “6 feet under”.