So first I thought I'd look up a few quotes:
Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. (Edgar Allen Poe)
You see things; and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" (George Bernard Shaw)
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; there is where they should be. Now put foundations under them. (Henry David Thoreau)
The last has been my favorite for years. I think that quote, and this next poem, perfectly illustrate the difference between wishes and dreams:
Poem #87, e e cummings
o by the by
has anybody seen
little you-I
who stood on a green
hill and threw
his wish at blue
with a swoop and a dart
out flew his wish
(it dived like a fish
but it climbed like a dream)
throbbing like a heart
singing like a flame
blue took it my
far beyond far
and high beyond high
bluer took it your
but bluest took it our
away beyond where
what a wonderful thing
is the end of a string
(murmurs little you-I
as the hill becomes nil)
and will somebody tell
me why people let go?
In my most humble opinion, wishes are desires that you think and then set out into the world, hoping that maybe you'll get a response. We wish on stars and blow the heads off dandelions, but we sever ties to these thoughts.
Dreams, however, are the passions that we have that we're willing to give ourselves to. They're our aspirations that we build staircases up to, that we lay foundations for, that we keep connected to a string. Dreaming is more of a process. You remain intimately connected to it, and even if you decide that a dream is no longer applicable, it will always cause a little piece of you to stir when you remember it.
So...some wishes:
*That the horrible crink in my neck would dissipate
*That I could double my shoe collection (and have room to store it)
*For Oregon water
And some dreams:
*Publish a book
*Own a beach house
*Travel to all continents (Patagonia counting as Antarctica)
*Help the US realize that food is more than fuel, and that we use too much fuel on our food
What do you think? What's a wish to you, and what's a dream?
