Dare to dream.

 Dreams.

 We all have them.

 When we fall asleep at night, we dream.

 When we’re growing up, we dream about the future.

Dreams are an ideal image of how we envision something whether it’s a dream vacation, career, house, or wedding. When we dream about those things, we think perfection, flawless, and what we feel we will most happy with. Dreams also have another meaning associated with it. Dreams are also a series of visions that occur whilst in an unconscious state, sleeping. Sleep dreams come in all different shapes and sizes, they are good, bad and borderline on nightmares.

Why then do we associate the word “dream” to those that we have whilst sleeping that we don’t want to come true?

Yes, we have another word for “bad dreams”, we call them nightmares. Nightmares and bad dreams are on two different levels. Nightmares are the ones that jolt you from your sleep, leave you crying, leave you not wanting to close your eyes, they scare you and traumatize you. Bad dreams are the ones that you want to wake up from but can’t, they play on something you don’t want to happen or are afraid of happening.

I thought about this topic after I woke up from my fourth bad dream in about two weeks. I definitely can’t classify them as nightmares because I wasn’t terrified. There wasn’t a supernatural aspect and I wasn’t kicking or screaming. I was upset, not terrified which is how I know it wasn’t a nightmare. So I have been having bad dreams, but I don’t want them to come true. I don’t want to feel the heartache and helplessness I experienced in that dream. Cinderella never dreamed that she wanted her life to be all about sweeping and waiting on her stepsisters. She envisioned a better life for herself, never did I read about her waking up crying or gripping the pillow hoping it will go away. Her dreams revolved around love and happily ever after, and they came true. In no way shape or form, do I want my “dreams” I’ve been having recently to come true, and I know they won’t. They’re stemming from separation anxiety and I know that, so I know they’re not going to come true.

We should continue to dream about the future when we’re conscious, awake, and in full control of our thoughts. We shouldn’t get discouraged about the bad dreams we have when we think we shut down our brains. We need to continue to separate the difference between our conscious and unconscious dreams. Don’t be afraid to dream. Don’t be afraid to fall asleep. When you wake up from the bad dreams, you think on the good dreams and all you want them to unfold into.

What are your thoughts? Why do we associate such a positive term with something completely negative?