“May all your impossible dreams come true”
This is the message on one of my favourite Christmas mugs! It’s a message that makes me reflect on the deepest wishes each person holds close to the heart at this time of year.
Impossible dreams contain an element of magic.
For children everywhere, impossible dreams may involve stockings full of toys Santa delivers. If the child hasn’t always shown good behaviour, the impossible dream may involve Santa (or parents) forgetting and forgiving.
For the homeless, impossible dreams may include a warm and safe place to live. For many struggling to pay rent, dreams of affordability may seem impossible. For the hungry, impossible dreams may include a fridge filled with nutritious food along with a well-stocked pantry. For the jobless, the dream may involve a chance at meaningful work.
For those coping with illness, impossible dreams might be of medical miracles to cure disease or opportunities to access necessary treatments.
For the grief-stricken when good cheer seems unimaginable, impossible dreams may call for solace and strength to move through a morass of feelings and memories.
My Impossible Dream
As we grow older, many traditions around celebrating the holidays no longer inspire feelings of merriment and joy. Christmas can be such a ridiculous time with online shopping fever, Santa parades in November, 10-foot-high plastic snowmen, and flying reindeer emerging from electronic devices.
2023 has been a tough year. It’s easy to lose a sense of hopeful optimism when lives are disrupted by war, wildfires, and floods — never mind the economy. Too many innocent people have suffered from circumstances beyond their control and from things nobody saw coming.
This is the time when we need to hold tightly to impossible dreams of peace in the world, reversal of the consequences of climate change, and equality for all people regardless of circumstances. Some people call this hope; some people call it magical thinking. I call it my impossible dream.
Dear readers, may laughter, love and joy fill your home and your heart during the holidays. May you keep hope alive. May you feel the wonder of living authentically. May you dream impossible dreams — and may all these dreams come true!
A beautiful reminder Jeanette of how fortunate some of us are and how sadly it is going to take a little more than Christmas magic to right the wrongs in the world today. My very best wishes for your own Christmas joy.
Yes, the world need miracles. Every Western country is reeling — to say nothing about the Middle East! Merry Christmas to you and your family. We need to find snippets of joy! May you enjoy moments of love and laughter with family and friends over the holidays!
Thank you for these wonderful words. While it’s easy to become overwhelmed by it all, your words remind me to take joy in the good things ( I am beyond words grateful for our daughters and their families being with us) and think positive about the future of what’s not so good. Wishing you all the best at Christmas and in the New Year.
Finding small ways to keep dreaming and hoping takes courage. I wish you and your family all the best during the holidays! Stay hopeful!
Beautiful post! I have your impossible dream, too! We have to keep hope alive! How else will things change for the better? Merry Christmas!
We need impossible dreams to keep moving forward in difficult times. Merry Everything to you and your family
Thank you Jeanette for the reminder. Your post reminds me of who I was in the 90’s, a middle aged woman travelling to Sudbury to pursue a career in Social Work. I remember feeling excited, hopeful, and a bit apprehensive all at the same time. Always one to see the glass half full, my hopefulness came out in my essays, and I still have one essay where an admired professor commented “in your dreams”. Interestingly, some 30 years later, I realize that I too have found it more challenging to be hopeful, and can sometimes be drawn into worry and hopelessness. So thank you for the Christmas present. Your reflection reminded me of another university course of the future of the world, where Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote that the future of mankind is dependent on hope…that when all hope is gone, it is then our future is compromised. So this Christmas season, I will reflect on what brings me joy and hope, spend time with that part of myself. Merry Christmas Jeanette.
You had a brilliant professor who took time to teach about the importance of hope. I selfishly wallow in the hopefulness of my grandchildren who still appreciate the wonder of Christmas. Growing older comes with experience that keeps us grounded in reality. I’m hoping that there is space for dreaming impossible dreams despite all the horrible things that are happening in the world. I wish you and your family impossible dreams, magical thinking, and an abundance of hopefulness!
Thank you Jeanette for your thoughtful perspective on this stressful time of year . If only I had a magic wand ….
We need magic to stay positive and optimistic especially with so much forced merriment around.I hope you have impossible dreams and that they come true for you! Enjoy the holidays and keep hope alive in your heart!