What place does a dream/vision have in one's life/relationships?
As a part-time angsty teenager, I myself am all too familiar
with the pondering of existence and the “meaning of life” as I lie awake in the
dark at 2 A.M. on a school night.
“Would I be more successful in my journey if I had more
motivation?”
“Would I be more dedicated to the journey if I had a set
destination?”
I wish I could say that I’ve got it all figured out, but
then what fun would that be? However, I have learned that dreams are powerful,
but success is dangerous.
Humans tend to work off of the reward system: if we work
hard now, we will be rewarded with economic stability/emotional
equilibrium/toys from Santa/etc. So it is the incentive that there is a light at
the end of the tunnel that keeps us motivated. Those who know exactly what
their light looks like are at an advantage. Their vision of success is no
longer an abstract concept, but instead a scenario. Gatsby, with the vision of
a life with the wealthy and highly demanded Daisy, is able to build himself up
from an irrelevant soldier boy to, eventually, the talk of New York.
However, a touch of success is where it becomes dangerous.
Success to us is similar to power. A taste of it is enough to throw one off the
edge. Eventually, even those that once upon a time had a vision could end up
chasing something that will always be an arm’s length away. How one can find
success and not fall into its trap is something I’ll save for another night to
ponder about.
