Talking Point 6: Making space for dreams

I took this photograph at Jólagarðurinn, the Christmas Garden, near Akureyri in Iceland. It’s called the wishing tree and stands next to a special wishing well where visitors are invited to stop, dip their fingers in a pool of water, look up to the stars above and make a silent wish, for children of the future. It’s a simple invitation to open your heart to hopes and dreams. A place to give a dream a moment to grow and hope it may come true.  But of course it’s not so easy to make dreams come true, is it?

The difference between dreams and reality

It’s been a busy two weeks, first with our crazy half term week of post jubilympic London action, then with Kirstie away all week visiting the World Travel Market, one of the world’s biggest travel trade gatherings and a mecca for travel journalists, operators, businesses and tourist boards. That too turns out to be a place for dreaming.

It’s made for some strange text and phone-call exchanges between us this week as I’ve been busy dealing with the important banalities of life at home while she’s been wandering the virtual globe, talking travel and dreaming big dreams.

“How was your day then?” I asked on one call.

“Oh I’ve been to a press conference on world travel trends, met the tourism bigwigs from Abu Dhabi and I’m on my way to blogcamp with the rockstars of travel blogging. How about you?”

“Well, I did the half term washing, took the kids to school and gymnastics, made some dinner…..”  I tail off. It’s fine but not exactly rock n roll.

“Oh” she says, “You know what? We’ve so got to go do a road trip in South Africa, go biking in Bhutan, check out the desert adventures in Abu Dhabi, and go see orang-utangs in the rainforests of Borneo…. Indonesia just looks amazing.”

I’d love to. Really. But right now such ideas are a moon-ride away to me. We’re in two different places; Kirstie dreaming up future possibilities while I deal with the demands of present reality. We’re reading the same book, but on two different pages. No, two different chapters.

As I pick towels off the floor and put my own orang-utangs to bed I wonder how we get back on the same page. I know these dreams are real to Kirstie, but they don’t seem real where I’m standing fishing toys out of the bath.

I know dreams can come true. But you have to own them. And they don’t just happen; you have to make them happen. They need time and space to take seed and grow.

Talking Point

Does everyone in your family share the same dream? How do you get on the same page? How do you create time and space to nurture and bring your dreams to life? Leave a comment below and join in with this week’s talking point.

Join the conversation

Talking Point is our series of short opinion posts. Each time we pick a topic and photo, post a talking point and invite you to join the conversation. Leave a comment with your thoughts.