Daily Cascade

On Dreams and Hopes

Prompt:
“Hope is a waking dream.”
Aristotle
In what ways is hope related to dreaming? Is there a down side in dreaming too much?

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To put it in a nutshell, both hopes and dreams are great as long as they are put into action. Otherwise, they end up looking like fake flowers.

But what is the relationship between hope and dreaming? Are they relatives? Or are they twin stars born from the same cosmic dust? Or, maybe, they are distant cousins, one offering possibility and the other fantasy.

Dreaming, the way I see it, is the theater we go to every night while we sleep. It can be surreal with stories spun from our memories, desires, and wishes, or our unrecognized deepest fears.

There is also that daytime dreaming. Personally, I try to avoid that, if my stubborn mind wouldn't get in my way. Giving in too much to daytime dreaming isn't healthy, for this is where many daytime dreams can become snares. For example, if one hasn't touched a brush, how can that person dream of being a successful painter? This kind of dreaming is escape. It is a wish dressed in fantasy.

Then, usually, hope comes in to save the day. Hope doesn't need or demand proof. This is because true hope isn't passive. Hope enters after some work or something solid is already there and accomplished. Hope, therefore, forms a bridge between vision and reality.

Accordingly, there is some connection between hope and dreaming. also. Dreaming without hope is aimless. Hope without dreaming lacks imagination. Yet, if they could work together, they could become the first steps toward success.

And for us writers, dreams without action are poems and novels untold. On the other hand, hope, after putting down a few ideas or maybe an outline, is the way to the first line of a story to be written.