minalisms

dream \ˈdrēm\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English dreem
Date: 13th century

2 : a visionary creation of the imagination
4 a : a strongly desired goal or purpose  b : something that fully satisfies a wish 

It struck me to learn that the word dream has been around since the Middle Ages. Since this discovery, I’ve been thinking about all of the remarkable, progressive and, yes, even evil, pursuits of notable individuals — just common human beings. 

Joan of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, Napoléon Bonaparte, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler,  Amelia Earhart, Thomas Edison, Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Richard Pryor, Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Barack Obama.

I’m not looking to become a president, pilot, painter, physicist or dictator; my dreams are tiny in this regard. But if others can accomplish such lofty goals, then, dear Minal, why are we so fearful of pursuing our own?