I used to watch a show called Yes, Dear. In one of the episodes, Jimmy, who works as a security guard for a movie studio, is talked into pursuing his dream to be a baseball umpire by his wife. The experience turns out to be miserable for him; he’s not very good at it and he gets a hard time from the players and fans.
Because he’d attempted it and failed, he could no longer tell himself that could have been a major league umpire if only his wife would let him chase his dream. The episode ends when his wife gives him a new dream–pro golfer. Since she’d never let him play enough rounds to get that good at the sport, he can dream “if only” again.
I’ve found myself thinking about this. My latest book, In Twilight’s Shadow, is released today and it addresses lost dreams. Maia, the heroine, always dreamed of working in a museum and dealing with beautiful art, but she lived among a society of magic users and her powers were strong enough that she’s trained to fight evil beings looking to harm others. And although she relinquished her magic, she didn’t pursue her dream–she’d given up on it.
The story encompasses a lot–romance, adventure, good versus evil–but at the heart, it’s a story about finding the courage to chase our heart’s desire. Maia has to believe in herself enough to invest years of her life on a college education to get that museum job she wants and she finds it easier to risk her life fighting to protect others than it is to gamble on herself.
Maia was difficult for me to relate to in some ways. I believe in chasing dreams, and if things aren’t exactly the way I envisioned, then I adjust and come up with new variations for the dream. So here’s the question of the day–Do you think it’s better to pursue a dream and risk failing or is it better to leave the dream untarnished by reality and untried like Jimmy did in Yes, Dear?
Patti O’Shea
www.pattioshea.com
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