Dreaming Big

This past week two of my friends experienced the unexpected force of loss. For one it was the death of her father and for the other it was the news that her soul mate is riddled with cancer.  The news of each combined with the fact that my friend asked me to conduct her dad’s memorial, has put me in a meditative mood.

Some time ago I clipped this short, short story by William Bausch:  

“An old man approached the 19^th century poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti and asked him to look at his portfolio to see if his work showed potential talent.  After looking through several sketches, Rossetti very gently told the elderly man that the pictures had little value and showed little talent.

Disappointed but not surprised, the old man asked if the artist might look at a few more drawings done by a young art student.  As he looked at each creation, Rossetti became enthusiastic in his praise.  ‘This young student has great talent and should be encouraged.  Who is the artist?’

The old man said, ‘This is my work from forty years ago.  If only I had heard your praise then!  For you see, I got discouraged and gave up too soon.’"

I like this story because it reminds me that dreaming big has two, often overlooked components.  The first is that in order to dream big, you need to be kind to yourself.  Without kindness, you can’t nurture that BIG dream so as to let it give you life and energy, no matter if you receive discouragement or no encouragement.  Without kindness, you’ll walk away from your dreaming self.

If you think about it, which was sadder––that no one encouraged the painter when he was a young man OR that he allowed the lack of encouragement to stifle him?  I think the real tragedy is that he couldn’t muster enough kindness to offer to his own talent.

The second overlooked component is that if you’re dreaming big then you have an obligation to encourage other big dreamers, and especially to encourage those who are afraid to dream big.

To be obsessed with your dream and not hear or see or sense the dreams of others turns you into a megalomaniac and not a dreamer.

Last December, George Whitman, legendary owner of the beloved Parisian bookstore “Shakespeare and Company” died.  At his funeral, the novelist Jeanette Winterson said he lived in such a way that made many a person ask, “Why should I be afraid of life?”

Indeed, life’s too short to be afraid of life––to be afraid to dream big. 

What about you?  Are you living the life of a Big Dreamer?