Dream Big or Go Home

We’ve probably all heard the saying, “dream big or go home” and maybe it was for sports, or just in a journal or the classic motivational video. The saying aligns with the idea of the “American Dream” and gives us hope that anything is possible. As an optimist, I like to believe that there is always a way, it just hasn’t been found yet. However, as a realist, I know that there are a lot of underlying factors at play behind the scenes. Growing up in America is being told to dream big when you’re young and then when you’re about 22 everyone is like “yeah forget your dreams it’s reality now get your shit together.” Maybe our dreams are just too crazy because our expectations are already high, but regardless of what your dream is, I say, still follow it.

The reason I’m writing this is because I had a new perspective on this saying “Dream Big or Go Home”. When you chase your biggest dreams, sometimes you wonder where home really is, or why can’t the saying be “Dream Big and Go Home” because going home to a warm bed and a hot shower is pretty nice, I’d like that to be a part of my dream. Home can mean more than just a house or a place to sleep, but to really have a community you trust and love, that is home. Some say home is where the heart is, so technically you are always home!

So when you look up this saying online it comes up as a very popular motivational quote that is supposed to inspire you to always follow your dreams and just keep going. But is it really just about motivation that helps us reach our goals?

To own a home and have home security, you may have to sacrifice your dreams, or maybe you can do both and have it all! Sounds so easy, especially if you talk to a realtor lol. Most people are in the low-medium income range in the United States and are renters working one or more jobs with bills, debt and lack of leisure time. When can they save money to buy a house living on a salary that stays the same when the costs of goods and services in the economy are rising? They are getting deeper in the hole, without a steady income we dig into our savings, we open credit cards, we take out loans, we support the local economy, and the big businesses keep more and more each year.

Every country has their wealth gaps, but ours are notoriously large. The gap has gotten too big and now our dreams are becoming smaller to fit the gap and to go home. Should we choose between our dreams and a home? When will we prioritize the basic needs of our neighbors and community? Food, water and shelter. To have all three, is a privilege. Healthy food, not the garbage cancer-inducing food, living water, not the chemical plastic bottles, home security, not renting to make a profit on a basic need for greed. If you have already, why not share with others? Why do we need to have multiple homes and excess food waste and terrible plastic waste from water bottles? It's hurting us all, wealthy or not, you can still get sick and be affected from this lifestyle.

We allow it. We make our choices. We follow the crowd.

Dream Big or Go Home, my home is unknown in a place where the people are so disconnected from the land. My dream is to always be home, here on Mother Earth. Let's recognize we can all heal the gap together if we can open our eyes to our true purpose.