The powers that be want us to do something big, bold, and remarkable with our lives. They want us to be great. They want us to “dream big.”
This encouragement has become so ubiquitous that we hardly even register it. We rarely take a moment to consider its merits.
And it certainly does have some merits. So many of us learn to “play small” and artificially limit what is possible for us. If we’re being generous, “dream big” simply asks us to let our imagination run free. That’s wonderful.
And yet, especially as someone who spends their days helping folks deal with burnout, I also hear something more sinister and destructive in it. I hear another echo of a society that finds meaning and safety in greatness, rather than goodness. I hear another echo of a culture deeply uncomfortable with peace, insisting on a life in which we are constantly hustling toward some distant, impossible goal.
Just like our sleeping dreams, you don’t actually get to choose your life aspirations. Not really. They arise within you. They are the universe showing you what wants to be created through you in this life.
So don’t pressure yourself to dream big. Just dream. Be genuinely open to whatever dream wants to emerge through.
Some of them may be bold and expansive. Others may be small, simple, and humble.
It honestly makes no difference. In the grand scope of the universe, every dream is impossibly small. And in the humble scope of our lives, every dream has meaning.
What matters is that you allow yourself to hear and trust the call of creation speaking through you.
