dream stealers

a long time ago, i read the phrase 'dream stealer'
and was totally taken with it. the book was obviously
talking about people who come along and try to take
your dreams away in different ways. some real obvious,
some not quite so. i sat back and thought of the dream
stealers i knew, and understood that i needed to try to
keep a distance from them.

it was actually really enlightening when i started thinking
'okay, there's a dream stealer.....and yeah, there's another.'

stop and do it for a moment. it's really kinda weird. there's
this 'ohhhhhhh! i KNEW there was something about them!' kinda
feeling.

but ya know, you can't keep them all locked out, because
they're everywhere! and i found that if i wasn't really
really careful, i could be one too!

i think in the big, obvious ways, i haven't done that.
altho, i can honestly say that i've come close and have
caught myself just in time. i know that i've made an effort
to be a dream accomplice. to encourage people with their dreams...

but....if i'm going to be really honest....well.....
i know i've done it in less obvious ways,
and i know when i do it....cause something hits inside.
i don't think i realize they're 'dreams' that i'm stepping on...
maybe beliefs that are different....i don't know. i get muddled
here. but i do know that i've done damage with my words. and
i can always feel it when i do. so, i'm in on this crime too.
and that's what i've been thinking about...

people do this to each other all the time.
all the time.
not even knowing it.
in a million different ways every day.

i just recently had an encounter with this...someone doin' the
dream stealing deal with me. i'm too stubborn right now to have
had this smaller incident affect me in hurting my dreams....but
it did affect me somehow because it's been lingering inside of
me. i figured that out this morning.
and it happened because he just assumed he was right.

bingo.
right there.
it happens when we just assume we're right.

i'm thinking that's something we need to really handle with
care. at least i need to really handle it with care.
because hurting another person because i'm 'right' seems beyond
'not worth it'....it seems just plain ol' wrong.
and you want to tell me who's right about another person's
life???

so, maybe i needed the reminder.
maybe my little dream stealer i encountered this week
was also my teacher...

i never want to be right like that.