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I dreamed a Dream in Time Gone By

JackDallas

Senator
Supporting Member
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted



This wonderfully haunting melody from Les Miserables must surely be a song for every man. When I listen to it I first fall into a deep canyon of melancholy and reflection on my life and my dreams, on the what if’s and the might have beens; and on where I am and how I got here. Then I rise to the mountain peaks of hope, and of no regrets for the twists and turns along the way, lifted in spirit by the eloquence of the music and the soothing, healing caress of warmth and beauty that softly touches the senses, the heart, and the soul.

Can a man live without dreams? Can a man live without hope? Dreams are born of hope. Do dreams make a man who or what he is or does who or what he is determine what his dreams will be? Some wish for freedom, freedom from fear and hunger and oppressive rule, freedom to live in a society in which the individual is no less important than the whole of that society.

Many dream of financial independence. Some of them merely dream of it and others dream and make it happen. Self determination is a noble dream; but is it one that, if achieved by some, precludes its being achieved by others? Many dream of having great wealth and power. Is this an illicit dream? It depends on the intent. If a man desires great wealth for the purpose of helping mankind then one would most likely consider his dream a noble dream. If he seeks money for the sake of just having money then not so noble is his dream.

When a man ceases to dream, he ceases to live. The simplest dream a man can dream is to be happy in life. To be happy with himself and who he is. To be free from turmoil, stress and self-inflicted wounds, is a simple dream. My dad used to dream of having a magic pocket in which, anytime he reached into it, he would find sufficient cash to pay for whatever he happened to need at the time. He had been born poor, to farming parents who worked hard to support six children. All his life, as I knew him, was spent dreaming of having enough money. I don’t know how much would have been enough for him, or if any amount could ever have been enough; regardless, his dream never came true.

We all have dreams. Some come true, most do not. When one has reached my age, much of their time is spent on reflection, looking back at their life and how they have lived it. There have been opportunities lost and opportunities seized, friends lost and new friends gained, people loved and people hated.

Most dreams eventually fall by the wayside and are no longer dreams, in the purest sense of the word, but rather have turned into fantasies which no one ever believes will come true. I think the only lasting dream that a man carries with him to the grave is the dream to be relevant; he dreams of being important, to someone, to something, to himself.

The dreams I dreamed when I was twenty-one are no longer relevant to me. The dreams I dreamed at forty-one are fading fast and slowly turning into fantasies; but as I said, no man can live without dreams. Although a man must eventually learn accept that a dream is no longer viable and that he must give it up; new dreams arise to sustain him.

I sit in my chair and watch my grandson at play. He is two years old now, or at least he will be two in July.

He is strong and healthy and full of life. Now he dreams of getting a door open so he can see what is on the other side. He dreams of swiping my cell phone off the table beside my bed so he can play with it. I am the only one in the family who lets him play with a cell phone, and he is addicted. He has learned to rotate the Favs on my phone and call them. I am sure he dreams of taking the phone and playing with it, unattended.

My dream for him is the same I’m sure that most parents and grandparents have for their children and grandchildren. I dream that he will be healthy and happy. I dream that he will grow up in a country that is still free and offers to everyone the right of self-determination.

I wonder what his dreams might be when he is my age. Will he have noble dreams, illicit dreams, or just simple dreams that make him a better man?

My dreams are diminishing and narrowing and seem to collide in one distinct theme. I dreamed of keeping my family close to me, and I have done that. My best dream would be that they would be spared any hardships in life, any emotional strife, any financial distress, and never suffer loss of any kind. Knowing that is unlikely, my final dream is that none of that occurs until after I am gone.

If I could go back to the beginning and dream different dreams, I would not. If I knew now that, somewhere along the way, I could have taken a left turn instead of a right turn and it would have made me the richest and most popular man in the world, I would not have taken that turn for it might have taken me down a road that does not end at my driveway and a house filled with the people I have been given by God.

Now, at the end of this post, it probably seems appropriate to add that I hope all of your dreams come true, but the truth is that I do not. If you have dreams that conflict with mine then I hope yours fail.

Jack
Repost from 2010
 

Jen

Senator
My dreams of the future are almost gone. I dream of seeing my children again - and my grandchildren. I dream of a death that's mostly painless and with my husband still living when I die. But beyond that, there's nothing much new I dream of doing.

That said, my life has been most excellent. I lived it to the fullest. Mistakes were made and I hope I learned from them all. And most important of all, it is well with my soul.
 

JackDallas

Senator
Supporting Member
My dreams of the future are almost gone. I dream of seeing my children again - and my grandchildren. I dream of a death that's mostly painless and with my husband still living when I die. But beyond that, there's nothing much new I dream of doing.

That said, my life has been most excellent. I lived it to the fullest. Mistakes were made and I hope I learned from them all. And most important of all, it is well with my soul.
TWO PRAYERS

I've only two prayers

Two small requests

and I'll ask for nothing more

Until I stand before You, Lord

on Heaven's blessed shore


Just grant these two

and I'll remain

secure from all alarm

Let me die before my children

and keep my children safe from harm



[c 1994 Jack Dallas]
 

Jen

Senator
TWO PRAYERS

I've only two prayers

Two small requests

and I'll ask for nothing more

Until I stand before You, Lord

on Heaven's blessed shore


Just grant these two

and I'll remain

secure from all alarm

Let me die before my children

and keep my children safe from harm



[c 1994 Jack Dallas]
Beautiful. And that IS my one request. One of my children died 39 years ago and I will never fully recover. Losing another would break me completely.
 

JackDallas

Senator
Supporting Member
Beautiful. And that IS my one request. One of my children died 39 years ago and I will never fully recover. Losing another would break me completely.
I'm so sorry. That has to be the worse thing that can happen to a person, much worse than dying. It is my constant dread.
 
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