Let Us Dream the Wildest Dreams Possible & Pursue Them
Today’s rapid pace of change makes it crucial that we, as individual citizens, have a clear idea as to where we want our world to go. If we hope to find and stay on the right course, we must agree on the basic features of the world we want to create. And we must think big as we dare to imagine—lest we waste the unprecedented opportunities that the world is offering us. Let us dream the wildest possible dreams and then pursue them.
- Muhammad Yunus
When I came across that quote in the last chapter of Creating a World Without Poverty my heart sank immediately. It succinctly sums up why I’ve been floundering without direction for the past several years; I have no anchor. (I have no idea why I’m making all these nautical metaphors either.)
I remember in grade school I started to notice what separated most adults from kids: a lack of boundless imagination defined by a pragmatic, “realistic” mentality masked as maturity. I made a promise to myself around then that I’d never outgrow my motto “DREAM BIG,“ hold onto my undying belief in limitless possibility, and continue to allow myself to imagine whatever I wanted. Dream Big resonated with me because I held a perpetual feeling of inadequacy while being constantly reminded of how “bright” I was and the amount of “potential” I had. As long as I could dream big I could escape to what could be.
In the past six months I’ve considered careers ranging from marketing to medicine to art to economic development to education. In the past six years it’s been even crazier. While reading Muhammad Yunus’ book I felt inspired while simultaneously judgmental of his borderline-delusional idealism. It’s funny because I used to be on the other side. I used to share his inexhaustible sense of idealism and hope. Somewhere along the line, while facing multiple disappointments, learning, and living life, I must’ve lost my childlike belief in dreaming big.
It hurts to think about how lost I am and even more so to realize how much I’ve diverged from my hopeful past. While I can’t pinpoint what my dreams are these days and what I want to do with my life, Muhammad Yunus helped me see something pivotal. The value of dreaming big lies in the act of dreaming itself. It isn’t about THE DREAM necessarily. Think about it. When you allow yourself to dream you choose to imagine and therefore believe in possibility. As a result, you pursue it, and act. He didn’t start Grameen Bank and other social businesses because that was the end itself. They came out of his desire to “dream the wildest possible dreams and then pursue them.” Wow, what a dude.
I still don’t know what any of this means for me or my direction in life, but I’ve been sitting at my computer for a while and am running low on my philosophical juices so I’m going to hit Create Post and go sit outside and enjoy the weather.
Peace, y’all.
