Everyone has a dream

Everyone has a dream. 

It is a common saying, and a true one I suppose. But the truth is deeper than that. The truth is that everyone has a different dream. 

The bored student in the classroom, gazing out of dirty windows. He dreams of summer holidays. He dreams of endless weekends and no shoes. He dreams of melting ice creams and football in the street and leaping into water. Mostly he dreams of freedom, of no school and no rules. 

The tired shift worker, struggling at the end of a series of night shifts, she dreams of home. Of comfortable smells and an even more comfortable bed. She dreams of a quiet family, even though she knows she won’t get it. She dreams that the money she makes will go to building the dreams of her children. She dreams about her children’s dreams. 

There is an old man, sitting in an old man’s chair. He dreams of days gone by, of past lives, of school days and work days and the days in between. He dreams of his wife, gone for a few years now, but still so vivid in those dreams. So real he can smell her, hear her, almost...touch her. He dreams of not being in his old man’s chair. 

She is a young girl, so talented, so gifted. She twirls and spins, she leaps without fear. She dreams of the Olympics. She dreams of beating that girl who put her in second place last year. She dreams of small corrections and perfect landings and making everyone proud. She dreams of flawless movement. 

A toddler at child care, restless for home time. He dreams of his mother appearing at the gate. He dreams of getting his bag and his lunch box. He dreams of waving goodbye to the other children and the teachers. He dreams of the comfort of holding his mother’s hand as they walk out together. He dreams in the short term, he dreams in the now. 

The business man at his desk, dreams of the weekend. But work crashes in and he also dreams of deadlines and computers and meetings. He refocusses and dreams instead of golf, and lazily washing the car. He dreams of easy dinners and a relaxed family. He dreams of the weekend, and not the week that follows it. 

A homeless teen, shrugging into a jacket that is too thin against the wind that is too cold. He dreams of enough food, enough money. He dreams of a good night’s sleep and a place of his own. He dreams of not being scared of the cops, who are there to help everyone else, but only want to move him on. He dreams of comfort in an uncomfortable world. 

Whether it is grand or simple, everyone has a dream. 

Whether is is acheivable or unattainable, everyone has a dream. 

Whether it is so close or impossibly far, everyone has a dream. 

Everyone has a dream. 

Everyone has a different  dream.