Dream vs Ability to dream

When we lose a loved one, a relationship, a job, or even money-we look at it as a dream lost. And it is true. The dreams connected to those specific people or things are gone. It is painful and it needs time to heal.

But what we often mistake is this: it is only the dream that is lost-not our ability to dream itself. That power always remains within us.

Too often we spend years grieving what never came to be-the vacation that never happened with a loved one, the home that wasn’t built, the family photo that was never clicked. We loop endlessly in “should I have done this, or that, or something else?”

If only we stepped back and trusted life’s rhythm, we would see the real lesson: the power is always in us to dream again-this time, more suited to who we are now. That is how we shift from the victim narrative of broken dreams into the sovereign narrative of building the life we choose.

I have lived this myself. When I lost my newborn, the dreams of motherhood as I imagined them shattered. But through faith and prayers, I found the courage to dream again-and today I am a mother of two thriving teens, a living reminder that some dreams return in new forms, stronger and deeper than before.

I once created countless models of the perfect home I thought I would build with my partner. Those dreams, too, dissolved. Yet out of that loss came Swasti-the home I built with discipline, resilience, and the refusal to give up. A home  beautiful, aligned, and alive to who I am now. 

So the next time something doesn’t happen the way you hoped-pause. Take your energy back. 

Remember: a dream may be lost, but you can always dream again. And the dream you build now will be the one that truly belongs to you.

Reflection Prompt 

Think of one dream you lost-a person, a place, a plan.

What part of that dream is truly gone, and what part can be reborn in a new way?

If you gave yourself full permission today, what new dream-aligned with who you are now-would you dare to imagine?