Vinceland

We used this phrase a lot. So many of my friends were living the dream at some point in their life. I was sure of it. Some people thought I was living the dream, at some point in my life, some might still. Living the dream was about doing things that everyone else wanted to do, but never could, for whatever reason. It was about snowboarding for a living, playing music for fun, sleeping in late, drinking late, riding all day, making money doing something you loved.

Living as a human on earth means you have the chance to create a dream and live it. Everyone has that chance, every day. Everyone lives their own dream, day in and day out. What did you dream about yesterday? Makes you wonder if you’re living the dream you want to, or the one you have little control over. Makes you wonder what happened to the dreams you had, or the one you might have tomorrow. It’s become obvious to me that dreams change. Life is a process, dreams are organic and every experience I have affects the dream I am currently living.

Freedom affords us the ability to dream and the chance live those dreams out. We live on a planet, that happens to be near a star, and happens to be a place where we can breathe, grow, eat and prosper. It might not always be that way and it wasn’t always that way. But today, our planet and our lives allow us to dream and have a chance to dedicate ourselves to living life according to our own ideas. There are people like us on earth without that chance, or at least with a much more limited chance that you have. And there are forces working against our dreams like the IRS, DMV, Local PD, Parking ticket giver-outers, and customer service personnel.

If you found out for the first time, the moment before death, that you could have lived out whatever dream situation you wanted to, no matter how far-flung an idea, how bummed would you be?

The other thing that I’ve been thinking about is how each of us can drastically affect other people’s dreams with our every day words and actions. We can be downright stifling to a dream. A passing comment, a fight, a sharp remark, a nasty look. All of them can squash an idea for a dream that’s not even materialized, or one that’s been brewing for years. I think of all the people who stomped on me over the years, without even realizing they changed the course of my life and potentially the lives of people I come in contact with. We live together and affect each other in connected ways we won’t understand, ever.

Another thing that occurred to me recently is that everything you can know about yourself can be found in a mirror. I don’t think people spend enough time examining themselves in that way, and being honest about what they see. Here’s where I see myself as a member of the human race today: Cosmos> Universe> Galaxy> Solar System> Planet> Earth> Land> North America> USA> Oregon> Portland> 17 Se 3rd Avenue> Man> White> 33> Married (Overweight, Lazy, Broke, etc…)

I understand that everyone, every day, is living some form of a dream. They are either in control of the dream or not. They are either happily living the dream or not. They are either living the dream or not. Sometimes, I see people doing things and saying things or not doing anything at all, and I wonder, out loud “What’s going on with you today?” What’s going through my head is: “What did you wake up thinking you really wanted to get accomplished today?” or “What direction are you headed right now that’s going to improve your current situation or someone else’s?” The scary truth is that I will never know what dreams float around in other people’s minds. Someone may be dreaming of me, about a moment when I did them wrong, and what they will do to get back at me. How will I ever know?

Wayne Coyne on perception, courtesy of Aaron Draplin.

I will end this with a story of complete stupidity.

• I ordered a Domino’s pizza tonight. Stupid.
• I forgot to ask them to have the driver call me when he got here. I’m on the 5th floor. Stupid.
• I walked down the stairs to wait for the pizza delivery. Stupid.
• I waited outside in the rain for a bit. Stupid.
• I went back inside and waited longer in the lobby, watched a random dude in the doorway who scared me. Dumb.
• I went back outside when the random dude left to stand in the rain and wait. Stupido
• The driver finally pulled up, and I moved towards his car to signal I was the dumbass who ordered. Stupid.
• The driver did not react, but picked up his phone and proceeded to dial and talk for a few minutes. I decided to be nice and wait a bit. Stupid.
• The fog in the car blocked my view of him, but I looked straight at the driver and might have waved, but I did not approach the car. Stupids.
• Eventually, the driver got out of the car, after having used his cell phone for a few minutes. I watched him. Stupid.
• The driver got his stuff, and proceeded to walk right past me and up the door. He began looking at the directory. Stupid.
• I was the only one standing outside the building. I said “I’m the one who ordered”. He said, “How was I supposed to know that?”. Dumb.
• He said he tried to call upstairs but there was no answer. Stupid.
• I said “Why didn’t you just ask me, since I was the only one standing here in the rain?” Dumbass.
• He proceeded to tell me that he delivers to many many people and that’s why he got a cell phone. Told me there used to be pay phones everywhere he delivered, but now they are gone. He looked around aimlessly, while my pizza hardened. He had the look of John Candy about him, with a little Carrot-Top mixed in. Kept going on and on. Stupid.
• He continued his story as he carbon copied my credit card, handed me my stuff, I left no tip, said nothing. Stupid.
• He tried to salvage the situation with a “have a pleasant evening, enjoy your pi-” Sorry dude.