A Place For Dreamers

Bryce Courtenay writes in his book, The Power of One, in each of us there burns a flame of independence that must never be allowed to go out. That as long as it exists within us we cannot be destroyed.  I like this. My culture wants to put expectation upon us to be and complete certain tasks at appropriate age levels. It demands a kind of generic similarity. In a brief and very simplistic overview, on average, each economic level has familiar family accomplishments. Children go to school, some begin at 2 years of age if they are potty trained and thus begins a long process of education, after school sports and extra-curricular activities – as much as you can pile onto an individual and cram into a day. Little time is left to think, meditate, ponder and mull over, learning from your parents/relatives experiences, or even to be taught their ways in areas of their expertise. Media stimulation has become a huge influence on lifestyle, demanding a larger portion of our time. Parental units are working very hard to pay for everything that goes along with the lifestyle. In another economic level, more parental units don’t stay intact and home life is more dysfunctional than functional and children are relegated to whatever is available through government programs and school initiatives. On another economic level, children are afforded the best of schools, even boarding and prep schools. Some leave their homes for training at an early age during a school year to take advantage of expensive intellectual stimulation. The outcome is usually, what kind of a job/career you will engage in for the rest of our life. But these days, for economic stability, many do not have the luxury of one lifetime career, but find themselves thrown into a situation that demands them to break out of a routine and decide to get creative about their money supply, the lack of, and think outside the generic box.  These survivors are independent thinkers and their flames burn white hot. It’s the kind of flame that brings life to many precarious circumstances. Many are drawn to its heat that burns a new kind of challenge into the fabric of society. It burns out a place for dreamers.