Human beings dream for different reasons. You may daydream about being somewhere else because you don’t like where you are. You may nurture dreams that motivate you. You may not realize you dream or, figure it has no significance.  If your health isn’t ideal, dreaming may raise your spirits, transform your outlook, or even heal your soul.

A recent movie called The Bucket List reminds us that it’s never too late to identify your dreams and realize them. In this story, the protagonists learn they are dying of terminal cancer. They draft a list of what they want to do before the end, sort of like living goals.

One man focuses on thrill-seeking experiences, like skydiving and car-racing, to encourage facing fear. This man also favours reinforcing his senses of sight and touch. He chooses to visit particular places and eat particular food. For him, money is no obstacle to realizing this list, yet what he buys doesn’t satisfy his lingering void.

The other man’s ideas are less materialistic and more feeling-based. He desired to experience things like, “a majestic view,” to grasp “the true meaning of joy,” and to do unspecified, altruistic things, like “help a stranger.” His own revelations include discovering a stranger can also become a friend.  Both men re-evaluate what matters.

Every moment, you have opportunities to define or revise your dreams. You don’t have to experience crisis to trigger deeper reflection. You don’t have to lose everything as the result of an environmental disaster, heartache, terminal disease or, the behaviour of dishonest people. Anything that evokes discomfort may prompt you to dream differently. Your mindset and feelings are like a compass.  You can change dream directions anytime.

That said, you don’t have to be given a reason to dream. You do it naturally. To raise awareness of hwo and why you dream gives new meaning to your life. What would you like to do differently? What stops you, but yourself? How are you thinking right now?