You are never to old to dream

What is the most dangerous animal in the world?

A person who has lost the ability to dream. So what is a dream? Not the kind when you go to sleep at night, but the kind of dreams that gets you up in the mornings. We have all had dreams in life especially when we were growing up. Most if not all of them faded away in the mists overtaken by duty and hard work. For example, earning a living at a job that has become more routine than challenging. Going to the same vacation spot every year even though you yearn for something different. Sitting in front of the television set every night and complaining about why the world isn't acting exactly the way you think it should. FEAR is what kills our dreams. Once we lose our dreams we just become Walking Zombies going through the motions of living. Do you sometimes get the feeling you are doing a Walking Zombie apprenticeship?
            Is being a Walking Zombie dangerous? Maybe not to others, but definitely to yourself. You did not come here to just "play it safe." You came here for the excitement, the adventure this world has to offer. You don't have to go to Spain and "run with the bulls" unless that is your passion, but why not try something new now and again?
          Have you ever wanted to go skydiving, but were afraid? Maybe Hang Gliding? Dancing for instance?
          I used to be a dance instructor during the time when country western dancing was all the rage. I would teach advanced 2-step, West Coast and East Coast Swing among others. Now it is no secret that most women love to dance and most single men want to date single women. Sounds simple, doesn't it? If the fellows knew how to turn the ladies around on the dance floor they would more than likely end up dating more.
       How easy is it to get a guy on the dance floor? I have had some ladies tell it is easier to drag a twelve-year old to the doctor's office. When it comes to guys wanting to learn how to dance just bring up the idea of going to take dance lessons and they will disappear quicker than a hunted fox. Now these fellows played tennis, shot pool, basketball, swim you name it. They can move, but when it comes to dancing? Some will get out on the dance floor and do it "free style" (swinging their arms around and such.) To learn actual moves, basic techniques and then practice them?........ "How about I just buy you a drink? Now will you go out with me?"
        The problem goes back to fear. To take a stranger out on the dance floor in front of everyone and screw up? Oh boy! What if you screw up and embarrass her in front of the whole crowd of people watching. Your friends will have a field day reminding you of that one, won't they? The biggest set back in accomplishing your dreams is the fear of failure. What is even worse is being a failure in front of others, especially if they already have a record of successes. Most guys don't like to lose or look bad. We have had our share of snafus growing up and dancing isn't something we learned back then. To learn how to dance requires going back to the beginning. We all know how embarrassing it was when we first tried to hit a baseball or catch one and that was when we were a kid!
         My wife and I were in Myrtle Beach  many years ago and there was a place called Studebakers. It was a restaurant bar with a staged dance floor in the center. Every now and again a certain song would come on and the wait staff would do some line dancing routines, afterwards it opened to the general public and the waiters would returned to serving drinks.  Buddy Holley's "Rock around the Clock" started playing and I grabbed Sharon's hand. "Let's go." I said. We climbed the stairs to the dance floor and did an East Coast swing. The next song had a latin flavor so we dropped into a Cha Cha and ended with a slow West Coast swing to a Motown's Temptation hit "The way you do things you do." The next song, "60 minute man" by the Dominos was a song the Carolina dancers (Shaggers) know and love. They hit the dance floor in droves. (Shagging is another type of couples dancing very popular in South Carolina.) Seeing dinner getting cold we exited the stage and watched the Shaggers from our table below. After "60 minute man" ended the Shaggers disappeared from the floor as quickly as they came leaving the stage barren as a forgotten ghost town. The line dance wait staff appeared for a quick number and as they were finishing I saw a couple rise from their table heading toward the floor.
        A young man in his twenties walked to the stage pulling his girlfriend in tow. The song had already started, it was a lively little tune and we watched this young Buck reach for his lady's hand. She pulled back in favor of doing it "free style" like she was accustomed. He once again groped for her catching an arm and she acquiesced taking his hand. Holding both hands he tried turning her and moving her around the floor. His legs at times got a little bit tied up causing him to stumble now and again as he twisted one way and the other.  He continued moving her arms up and around turning her to the left and then to right keeping pace to the music. He was having a good time in his new found dancing feet, however she still had some trepidation as they danced. Feeling a little more comfortable he attempted to spin her around and try another "cool" (advanced) move he had seen earlier. Not knowing the basics about framework and turns, he spun her way too fast causing her to completely lose her balance. She started to fall away from him, he pulled her back just in time except he lost his footing and down he went. She regained her composure, stood over him glaring with hands tightly clenched to her hips. The song rambled on as he reached to her for help. She glared at him for a moment longer, turned away and walked off the dance floor leaving him all alone on that big empty stage.
        He rose to his feet, dusted off his pants and before he could walk off the dance floor, there was a thunderous clapping sound all around the bar. It seemed we weren't the only ones to see what happened to this poor fellow who wanted to dance. Who not knowing how at least tried. Every dancer knows that in the beginning the probability of falling is at its highest. Even as you advance, the moves get harder and sometimes one loses his balance.
       The problem in life isn't falling down, it's in the getting up. Like an Olympic ice skater, this fellow had the courage to try even in the face of possible failure and humiliation. That was what made him a hero that night.

There is a hero in each of us if we only let it out. The only way to turn on our hero mode is to turn off our fear button. When those little demons open their mouths and tell you how silly you are going to look or how stupid you are to try just tell them to shut up and go bother someone else. Once you lose your fear of making mistakes, never quitting on your dreams is the day you will find they weren't mistakes after all, but adventures to relive and talk about perhaps even laugh at as the years go by. Success in life goes to those who never quit trying.

                                           " The problem in life isn't falling down, 
                                                                                   it's in the getting up"

This world is for the dreamers. If you tell others about your dreams and they tell you to "Get Real." Remember they were once dreamers too, they have just become scared to follow them, don't make the same mistake no matter how old or young you are.