Become Your Dream

There is a homeless man who parks his shopping cart on the corner of my street. He's friendly and well loved on the block. He has his dog and sits there all day and night, while people pass by, leaving him food, some loose change, or even just a warm smile.

All over his cart are the words "Become Your Dream". The other day, it was written in chalk down the sidewalk. It got me thinking.

I have spent countless hours trying to figure out what I want to do, where I want to be, what my dreams are and how to achieve them. Others have spent their entire lives trying to achieve these same things. And here, in his shopping cart on the Upper East Side, I truly believe this man is living his dream, believing in himself more than many of the people who pass him believe in themselves.

So is the answer to simplify things? I think it might be. Why over complicate, competing with everyone else, including ourselves, for dreams we may not even want. There are dreams that have been laid out for us, without even realizing it. Our parents want us to be successful. Universities preach achievement and success at any cost. Jobs feed the competition further, with the knowledge that if we can't keep up, the unemployment line awaits. The stress that comes from this is probably not what we dream of. After all, can't success mean different things to different people?

The solution? Take a minute, figure out what your dream is. Take a risk, become a clown, travel the world, bake cookies all day, who cares? If it's your dream, it's worth a shot! If it does not work out, at least you tried.

The morale of the story from this homeless man's writings? Believe in yourself and become your dream...