Living the dream. Beyond my wildest dreams. I never dreamed… Pinch me, I’m dreaming. These are some of the comments people make when something happens that they never believed would come to pass. Usually it’s something good. (Of course, if it’s something bad and they still want to address it in like manner, they might use the word nightmare instead.)
But why the emphasis on dreams anyhow? In the truest sense of the word, a dream is something that normally happens when we are not awake. Some people believe that dreams are a sort of illusory wish fulfilment – that our subconscious goes into overdrive once we’re asleep taking us places and helping us do things that we are unable to while awake. I don’t know if I want to buy this completely because what would explain nightmares?
The other explanation is that dreams are pictures (think movies) our minds create while we are asleep – I can live with that.
But then there is the other type of dreaming, that which occurs while we are wide awake. Daydreaming. To me this is the best kind and it’s good for us.
Apart from helping us to set goals, it gives temporary escape from reality and can be a good way to release pent-up emotions without physically acting them out. Daydreaming allows us to leave the world behind and ruminate on what can be.
While some see it as fanciful and wishful thinking, positive daydreaming is healthy; it is the unfettering of the imagination and should be encouraged. We have a duty, however, to not just daydream, but to strive to live our dreams.
This week, we said a poignant farewell to Oluatoyin Samantha Alleyne-Williams or Sam, as she is fondly known. A contributor to The Scene from its inception nine years ago, Sam has been with the Stabroek News for more than double those years. She started straight out of high school and only took a year off to complete her MA in England.
Writing for The Scene would have afforded Sam the opportunity for respite from the heavy reporting she normally did. She has made countless contributions to this very column as well as done a great many interviews and other stories. But the fact of the matter is that she has always been one of those ‘bleeding-heart’ journalists. She worked hard at pursuing stories that could evoke change, even if it was just to touch a single life and succeeded more often than not. Though this was not something she bellowed from the rooftop, it clearly engendered a sense of satisfaction.
It was obvious that Sam dreamed and then set out to fulfil those dreams.
It is likely because she never stopped dreaming that she arrived at the current crossroads in her life that saw her switching professions and stepping into previously unchartered waters. But perhaps they will take her to a place where she can do, rather than write about what should be done.
What we know for sure is that because of her work ethic, she will continue to strive for excellence. We want to encourage her to never stop dreaming. All the best Sam, from The Scene.
