Hearing these words during a meditation confused me. I am a bit of a conspiracy theorist who wonders if we could be living in a simulation. I haven’t decided yet, but I wanted to be sure the message and its intent were clear and not clouded by my tendency to ponder fringe ideas. When I asked for clarification, I got a far more profound explanation than I expected.

Our ancestors worked hard to get us where we are today. Without innovation and sheer force of will, many things we take for granted would never have happened. Some people are born with a fierce drive to help others, often at the expense of their own lives. Some of those people think in broader terms such as doing things to benefit humanity as a whole, while others work on a smaller scale to help their communities and family. Wherever they chose to place their efforts, they did so with the intent of growth, achievement, access, and success. The images I got showed people standing and dreaming of what life would be like years after they were gone. To visualize how what they did in their time might help others in the future. You are the person they envisioned. Your life and the opportunities you have were what they dreamed about and hoped for. You live the life they wanted. You have the things they longed for. You have the success and opportunities that they could only dream about. You are the dream.

Thinking about that changes my perspective on so many things. I think about my life and how this is wrong, that is wrong, or something is not quite right with that thing over there. I now look at my life differently. The things I take for granted were once a dream that someone else never thought was possible. I went to college and graduated. There is only one person in my extended family who went to college. That’s now, in my time. There was a time when women couldn’t obtain education even at the elementary levels. Whether you are one of the highest-paid individuals on the planet or a migrant seasonal worker who comes to work on farms, you fulfill someone’s dream.

Some dreams are big, some are small, but they are the ultimate dreams to the dreamer. Something they hoped for, wanted, needed. Who you are now is the living example of someone’s dream. My first thought was to tell that person to raise their standards, and then I dismissed it, remembering that compared to some, I am living at a higher standard. I do have a good life for which I am infinitely grateful. I’m not rich or famous, but I am content. Most people in developed countries live a good life. Granted, not all of us. Nothing is perfect and change is always possible.

The point is that as you dream, you help create the future as did those who came before us. They helped create the circumstances and opportunities that shaped us. It’s our priviledge to construct the environment and framework for future generations. Whatever you dream, make it good. Create a dream full of potential, happiness, contentment and higher vibration consciousness. Make it full of understanding, harmony, joy, and compassion. A dream where old wounds heal, broken hearts mend, and minds are open. You can do this, because you are the dream.