Keeping the Dream Alive

This week was a rude awakening for me at work. I finished reading the amazing: Forest of Hands and Teeth last week and also finished writing my novel on Sunday. With both those worlds still swirling around in my head, I found it hard to focus on the ordinary and often mundane task of working my day job.

At first I thought it was because in many books the characters don’t have tedious jobs so we get lost in a world where we are free of such things ourselves. When we have to re-enter our old lives, it is hard to go back to working everyday at a job that isn’t always fulfilling.

The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that isn’t it at all.

When I was young, even though my rational mind told me it was impossible. I always felt in my heart I was meant for something more, something amazing. I think all kids feel that way.

As we get older I think we forget about that belief or repress it so we can do things that may not be shiny or even pleasant. But it never really goes away.

Reading gives voice to this unspoken hope buried deep in our subconscious. Hope that there is something more. That we are meant for something fantastical. By reading a book, we find a way into a world where anything is possible. Where a life that seems ordinary, when viewed as a whole, we find is often extraordinary.

Thank you to all the writers that inspire me. That open their worlds to me and allow me to share the spotlight with their characters, for a few shining moments of glory. Thank you for helping me to keep dreaming. I hope to inspire others in this same way, someday.