Week 12: Describe your biggest, wildest dream
“That’s easy. World peace,” the women responded in Miss Congeniality. It’s big. It’s wild. It’s unimaginable.
I have a lot of big, wild dreams, actually. I would rather stay up late into the wee, small hours of the morning doing all the things I love instead of sleep. I’m the definition of “night owl.” If no one was around, I’d stay up singing loud, sourdough in the oven, laptop open while I pen ideas that stream into my mind. Maybe one of my big dreams is to bring that evening I just described into reality.
But now I’m thinking even bigger and wilder. I’m thinking about what keeps me up on a normal night, making it nearly impossible for me to fall asleep. Peace. “World peace” may sound all encompassing, but the more I think about it, the more restricted it feels. Yes, I want world leaders to be able to work together, allow us to benefit from one another around globe, and unify in helping everyone feel safe and free. But I desire peace for all. Peace in a world where each day I think to myself Liz Lemon’s classic line from 30 Rock, “What fresh hell tomorrow will bring.”
As I wake up, I read the New York Times Morning newsletter, starting my day in-the-know and anxious. As I make my way into work, I pass people who lack homes and people suffering from addiction. In my work, I’m constantly thinking about how to best represent those who are underrepresented and wondering if systems that were broken when created will ever change. As I walk home, I pass people who walked into the bar shortly after lunch and are already belligerent on the street. Once I’m home and safe and curled up on my couch watching TikTok videos, I realize how many challenges beyond what I see others face around the world. All of this, and I haven’t even mentioned my constant concern for Ukrainians and others who face violence every single day.
At this point, you’re probably thinking that I want peace for myself or peace of mind. Those are definitely some big, wild dreams right now. But my biggest, my wildest dream? That peace overwhelms us all. I’m basically describing heaven. And I want heaven for each and every one of us. I want the disadvantaged to no longer be disadvantaged. I want the underrepresented to be represented. I was justice for those who need justice. I want happiness for those who lack happiness. I want cures for illness. I want homes and food and water for those who are without our basic, human needs. Again, I want heaven.
Yes, I do believe in God. So also yes, I want this heaven for us all (except Putin, obviously, and others like him.) But I want your heaven to also be yours. I want you to feel so enveloped in peace that you forget about the horrors of wars and pandemics and fires and hurricanes.
I hope you also dream big and wild.
