Knowing yourself is one of the great challenges we are given. You see the mind will lie to you. It will make you believe things that are contrary to the heart. You can feel inside of you that an action is wrong. But the mind will convince you its ok. There will be no harm or foul.  So it is quite important that we do indeed listen to the heart. One of the things I have to admit to myself is that I am a dreamer. Now, I don’t mean that I sit around in my pajamas, smoking a bong or drinking a cup full of whiskey. I mean to say I enjoy looking at things through the veil of dreams. It is like walking through the forest and you see this unique shaped tree. You stand there and stare at it and envision what it would look like as part of a creation. You dream of what you could make with that strangely shaped tree. Now that is my type of dreaming. As I walk through the forest, I might see a tree that has blown over. It has bared its roots for all to see. The rain has washed some of that precious dirt off,  exposing the unique curves of the root structure. Oh, how nice of a table’s center leg that would make. Or maybe it would be a great center post for a specially constructed house?  Quite often I am asked to look at something and with words describe one such dream. I try to word the description such that they are not offended. I might start of by saying, “if this was my project”.  No two dreamers are the same. So, I describe my dream and let it go at that.

      When I worked for a couple of big companies, I would be presented with a problem. A lot of times, it would be a combination of electrical and mechanical issues. Because I am a dreamer, I am quite open minded. This has allowed me to solve problems quicker than some. It has also gotten me in trouble more than once. Because I was “ just a technician” , and the engineer would be upset I corrected his design. Even though the item functioned great after I touched it. The idea is often not just mine and I admit that. I would ask others their opinion. I would then take all their answers and put them together like a puzzle. As the pieces fell into place, I would try and give all due credit. As long as the final outcome fit into our hopes and dreams all were satisfied. But, every once in a while, one person would attempt to take credit for the solution. This would not be right, it was all of our efforts. I would hesitate the next time asking that particular person for input. Some folks are like that, they would regard their opinion as “ the answer”.  When it was only a piece of the puzzle.

     I do so enjoy working with open minded folks that help make some of these dreams come to life. Time has taught me though to step back and describe my dreams, my visions only when asked. When I worked for the big companies, I would give them away. I would not get credit because it “ was my job”.  I would gladly give the dream, the idea, to another person and let them take the credit. Because the sad thing is the world is not always kind to dreamers. That open minded person is quite often pushed away just because they are “ a dreamer”.   We so need dreamers in this world. The ones who dare to step forward and say “ what if”.  Unfortunately, I feel at age 75 my life chapters are getting less and less. But there are a lot of other dreamers out there.  We so need to find those dreamers and stand beside them, stand behind them and create beautiful things. Take not their dreams and call them yours. Be open minded, be supportive and call them OURS.  Respect that dreamer just because they see things from a different perspective.      Ken White  COB

 

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