Disguarded dreams for sale

Disguarded dreams for
sale at Yard Sale prices.
A commentary of the state of our dreams:
written by Elger Heath
The other day I bought someone else’s dream.
“What?”, you say. “How can you buy a dream?” The
better question to ask is how can you sell a dream and
where would you sell it?
I have been a big fan of eBrandon ever since I
found it on the internet. eBrandon is like eBay with out
PayPal and shipping and handling. eBrandon is a local
computerized classified ads site where one can buy or
sell things absolutely free. What a great idea. I use it all
the time. You can find almost anything on eBrandon.
But this is not an article selling eBrandon. It’s about
dreams and what happens when we give up on them.
As I said, I bought a dream. I saw it for sale on
eBrandon. It was an Oscar Schmidt
acoustic guitar in near mint
condition being offered for $100.00
with no case. Immediately it
occurred to me that if this guitar was
truly in mint shape that this was an
incredible bargain. Naturally, I
contacted the seller to learn more
about its condition and why she was
selling it. Her explanation didn’t surprise me much. She
had bought it with hopes to learn to play guitar and had
simply never succeeded. In the end it was decided that
it was just taking up space and ought to be sold.
After a moment of contemplation, however, it
occurred to me that this was not just an asset being
liquidated because it was of no use. It was a dream
given up on and I wondered why people take on dreams
that they can’t or won’t accomplish. That’s when I came
upon my theory of why we let go of dreams so easily.
Dreams are our hopes and wishes. They are the
things that we would like to accomplish. Not the thing
we have to accomplish but the things we truly want to
do. Even though we don’t need dreams to get by, all of
us have them. They are our ultimate goals for
happiness. Many of the greatest things people do in
their lives are the result of striving to make dreams
come true. A dream reached is the ultimate emotional
victory, and yet… we give up on our dreams so easily
these days. Why?
My theory is that we have gotten used to this idea
that everything can be bought and sold. I bought a
guitar, a case, a tuner, some lesson books and even a
professional music teacher. So why can’t I play this
darn thing? Our society revolves, these days, around
our economy. Our economy revolves around selling
people stuff. When selling stuff to the consumer one
can not be concerned about whether the stuff we sell
will actually serve the needs of the consumer. Tell the
consumer what he wants to hear and he will buy what
you have to sell.
Amazingly, we have become so brain washed by
this form of society that this often actually works. We
accept their promises on face value. When this stuff
doesn’t fulfill our expectations we blame the stuff, not
the seller or our selves. The truth, however, is that this
is where the fault lies, in us.
Dreams aren’t like instant lemonade… just add
water and stir. Dreams require specific things that you
can not buy… time, patience, dedication, organization
and hard work. It’s not like buying your dream home.
You actually have to build dreams up mostly from
scratch. When you see statements like, “Learn to play
guitar in just a week.” or “The easy method of playing
guitar.” do you actually believe them? Many people
seem to, even though we ought to be smarter than that.
Even when I try to tell folks that they have to dedicate
the time and effort into learning a skill like this they
just don’t seem to believe me. Do they think I would lie
to them to make it sound harder then it actually is? I’ve
learned to play guitar so I ought to know. It’s just easier
to convince oneself that all you have to do is fork over
the cash, and your dream will come true.
Don’t get me wrong I believe that you can make
your dreams come true, but you have to MAKE them
come true. They won’t happen all by themselves. If you
want to learn to play guitar, for God sake, set a side
some time every day, (half an hour or more), to practice
and PRACTICE! Don’t let discomfort stop you. Keep at it
and DON’T give up! If this is your dream MAKE IT
HAPPEN! The only guarantee is that if you give up it
won’t.
The sobering number of guitars for sale on
eBrandon, not to mention all the other instruments
advertised there, is a testimony of how many people are
willing to sell their very own dreams. I hope you are not
one of these.
I bought the guitar. It’s a fine instrument but I do
feel a little sad when I play it. It’s as if a ghost haunts
this instrument. The ghost of what could have been.
Yes I’m a little emotional about these things. But music
has become part of my soul. It has always been my
dream and to sell my dream would be like selling my
soul. Well that’s my theory. Take it or leave it. May you
have the courage to follow your dreams to their
successful completion.
You will see me at the next jam;
Elger Heath