What is a dream anyway? It normally is considered a series of mental images and emotions that occur during sleep. The life of the mind while resting on your pillow after being tapped on the brain by the sandman. Or, it could be a cherished desire or ambition while you are awake. You know, to be younger, smarter, and more athletic or attractive.

Dreaming while being wide awake is another possibility, called day dreaming, or in other words, a state of mind characterized by abstraction and the release from the reality around us. Or again it could be what many of us want, the incredible but vain hope of being someone else. You know, indulging in a fantasy or an illusion.

Then there is the impossible dream. … There are many ways to go insane, and this could be one of them. Of course, you remember the lyrics to that popular song of the same name – “Dream the impossible dream; to fight the unbeatable foe; to bear with unbearable sorrow; to run where the brave dare not go.” But are you brave today? Do you really feel like a fight?

Interpreting dreams can make the time pass, if not enlighten you to your inner feelings. Dreams typically reflect whatever thought, feeling and awareness is on your mind at the time of the dream. The lottery can mean you need some money. Being chased? Most of these dreams are inspired by fears of violence, or maybe you are watching too much TV. To dream that you are eating an apple signifies harmony, pleasure, and fertility. Dreaming about blue (not the blues) represents truth, wisdom, devotion, tranquility, loyalty and openness. Perhaps you are expressing a wish to get away. Interpreting dreams can go on and on and take up a lot of retirement time.

Or perhaps, coming back down to earth, the dream is that perfect mate you married; he/she is a dreamboat, or the person you desire to date. Or that dessert you just had after dinner, or the new car or boat you just bought that rides like a dream.

But truly, in reality maybe the only thing you want is that dream house to retire in. You know, the one set next to a small lake or stream, surrounded by trees and a lush garden, maybe even a vegetable patch, in a quiet neighborhood where you can relax on the porch in the warm sun and catch up on reading all those books that have been gathering dust on the shelf while you were working. To some this would be even more perfect if a bowling alley or the first tee were just a few blocks away.

Or that dream vacation to warm weather or historical settings of the past world. A cruise around the ocean in a large luxury boat filled with food and games and blinding sun while skirting mysterious islands or historical sights. But be careful of fulfilling that dream of skydiving or mountain climbing because earth is way down there. Be real, “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today,” said that young and short-lived actor rebel, James Dean, who went for it all and ended it all in a fast Porsche.

But be careful of dreams. They are intangible elements and can fade away, or be lost by a bad decision. But they can’t be, or shouldn’t be, abandoned. Dreams make the world go round. They are the beauty of the human mind, a function only the human animal can perform. “To dream anything that you want to dream, that's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do, that is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits, that is the courage to succeed,” Bernard Edmonds.

Seniors’ dreams are a way of life and a means to a successful and happy retirement. They are the handles to grab to advance into the future with a smile. Dreams don’t stop at any age. Seniors and Dreams go hand-in-hand.

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