I was recently talking with AlwaysOnTime about wishful thinking and how living toward reaching wishful goals, as idealistic as they may be at times, is better than not doing anything about them at all.
The conversation shifted a little bit: AlwaysOnTime: If only we get enough people to start dreaming again! Myself: How do we begin?
And that got me thinking. How do we begin? Why does it feel that people don't dream anymore? Perhaps throughout the ages, it's always felt that a large part of the population doesn't dream. But something about our time seems different. There's an apparent lack of care (be it for the environment, human interaction, others, etc...) that most carry about them. People no longer seem to care about the quality of anything. We seem to be taught more often 'quantity over quality' for the sake of 'efficiency.' But is being efficient what we really want? Do we really want to be safe? Is not living with uncertainty the entire purpose of living?
I was telling AlwaysOnTime that the reason I listen primarily to jazz is because it's truly good music (I know, I know, there are exceptions). The musicians care so much about the music, have a deep understanding of the music, and can articulate their thoughts in the most beautiful of ways (whether it be through an instrumental solo of lyrics). Take for example a line from the tune All The Things You Are:
So, what will it take for us to dream again? Care. Appreciation. Love. Understanding. A willingness to put forth at least some effort and learn to love that that isn't easily digested (because I believe that there's a large amount of slothfulness in our world and that's what leads to the lack of the aforementioned).
Talk to your neighbor, the person sitting next to you, get to know strangers! Have human interaction, don't be afraid or anxious to talk to someone you don't know because honestly, they're probably looking for someone to listen to what they have to say. I may be preaching to the choir because of what I've seen on my two days on Hubski, you guys are incredible loving people, and that truly warms my soul. But on the other hand, who better to go out to the masses than those who believe this in their hearts as well?
I've had this bottled up for a while I guess, haha. Thanks for bearing with me through a trip through my mind.
There's a seriously problem with Apathy right now. Why should we care? It's none of our concern. In a society that puts everything in the corner of individual rights and freedoms we begin to lose our sense of community. And it's one thing to dream, but it's another thing entirely to work with people to express this dream to the people around you, and to find the common ground needed to make a huge dream a reality.
At the beginning of the 20th century we had hundreds of people trying to develop a way to fly. How nuts is that? We're earthbound by nature, and these folks like the Wright Brothers (who flew in 1903) Gustav Whitehead (who flew a couple years before 1903) discovered new and exciting ways to travel. Within sixty years we were on the moon. The. Moon. How do we not dream like this anymore? Do we think we've done it all?
We'll find our dream, hopefully soon. I pray we're simply in a transition period, looking for a new avenue to walk, and struggling to break the bonds pop culture have on our souls.