The Dream Giver, a Feather, and a Vision Review
These next few paragraphs explain a new book I read titled “The Dream Giver”. I share a little about the book and then some interesting facts I found out about myself after being part of this journey to the Land of the Familiar.
Have you ever had a book recommended to you by someone and you really weren’t sure if you would want to read it, but you agreed to do so anyway?
I normally read romance mystery books and some of my favorite authors are Mary Higgins Clark, Miranda James, Dorothy Howell, and Dorothy Gilman. These books connect with the natural born detective in me. No, I don’t work as a detective for a living however; I always notice the differences in things and if something isn’t quite right or if someone isn’t quite right. I find detective work fascinating. Maybe, I also just like to get away from reality and into someone else’s drama. I really don’t know what makes these types of books appeal to me. I do know that when I pick one up I just can’t put it down. I keep reading and reading while the hands on the clock keep moving. It is so crazy.
Recently, my library has expanded with the addition of something other than a mystery. I wasn’t sure if I would like it or if it would hold my interest. Boy was I wrong. This book I speak of is so powerful yet simple that it is easy to connect with. The story is engaging at the same time. The characters in the book don’t have names making it a book unlike any other I have read.
The book recommended to me for review was titled “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson. I had never heard of it before being introduced to it and I even wrote down the name and author so I would remember to look for it at the library. My local library did not have it so I placed a hold for it. This should tell you how eager I was to read it. Not. I figured when it wasn’t available right away it wasn’t meant for me to read. It never occurred to me that maybe it was so popular that I was on the waiting list to get it. Perspective is everything and my view was wrong. I admit it.
You didn’t read this to hear all the drama surrounding getting the book in the first place, but rather something about the book. I was wrapped in before ever read the book. I opened the cover, inside adjacent to the chapters was a note that read: The book was for anyone who ever hoped they could achieve something with their lives. Have you ever opened a book and saw a dedication to someone? I have too. Now, have you ever opened a book and the dedication was to you? Never in all my book reading years have I seen this. I was impressed and wanted to read more.
The Dream Giver interacts with the reader. The beginning asks a question of the reader, a question of me. I felt like I was truly talking to someone in front of me. The question was “Do you believe every person on earth was born with a dream for his or her life?” I was like, what? I usually read books for entertainment and to figure out who the killer is? Remember I read Mystery books. This was too much, this book was asking me questions and I found myself speaking out loud answering them. Omg.
I followed the journey of Ordinary, a Nobody, who lived in a place called Familiar. OK, he does have a name; not a name like you and I have but nonetheless it is a name. Ordinary did the same thing day in and day out, just like every other Nobody did. He woke up, went to his usual job, came home, and started the day over again. He had thoughts of something bigger and would get a feeling that something was missing from his life. The thought would pass and he would continue doing what was expected of him. One day he found a feather on his sill. He believed it had come from the Dream Giver. He wasn’t the first Nobody to have this occur to him. No, there were others before him; he just never imagined it could happen to him. He was afraid to tell anyone in Familiar about this dream of his and that he found this feather the Dream Giver had given him. Day by day, Ordinary kept thinking about his big dream, it was all he could think about anymore. He was becoming restless at work and he realized he would never be happy unless he could pursue this dream of his. He was given a chance to make a change by the Dream Giver and he desperately wanted to follow it.
I keep reading because now I am interested in what this big dream is that Ordinary has. Somewhere I am still in mystery mode and this has lit my curiosity. I keep reading and discover myself feeling the same way Ordinary is feeling. When he is sad, I am sad, when he is scared and unsure I am scared and unsure. This has never happened to me before while reading. Wow.
Ordinary tells his dad about the feather and how he really is unsure of what to do. His dad tells him that he was once visited by the Dream Giver too however; he was too scared to step away from Familiar in search of his Big Dream. He tells him to do it. Ordinary, with the reassurance of his dad, leaves his comfort zone, the Land of the Familiar. As he gets farther and farther away from Familiar he questions himself more and more and feels scared. He is wondering if he can do this or if the dream is just too big for him. Along the journey he finds friends and family who let their fears for him interrupt his forward thinking and he doubts himself even more. Each time he looks to the feather for reassurance and remembers what his dad told him.
The reason this book resonated with me is that I find myself in Ordinary’s shoes, if he even had any on. I am in pursuit of a vision that I believe I have had all along. I am still in pursuit of it at the age of 40. There were times while reading this book that I thought I had no way of obtaining my vision but as I read more about Ordinary I realized that until I no longer have a heartbeat I still have that vision and it can still be brought to life.
Many people will be obstacles standing between you and your vision. Some may be family or friends. It isn’t that they don’t believe in you, it is that they don’t want to lose what you have with them. They are not ready to follow their dream therefore; your big dreams are more than they can handle. Maybe they don’t want to see you fall either. Little do they know that when you follow that big dream, nothing and I mean nothing big or little will keep you from it? The only obstacle is YOU.
Ordinary finally made it to his Big Dream with the help of the Dream Giver. He found that belief in his dream and in the Dream Giver kept him focused and kept his vision in his head. The word NO does not exist when we are really driven. NO is replaced with “find another way”, and you will do this. Ordinary used truth and his smarts to out think all those standing in his way. Many times he pondered what to do for more than one day, in the end he decided to continue to follow what the Dream Giver had given him, a DREAM.
