Living Your Dream

Several years ago I had the privilege of working with a simple yet sincere man who was dying of a terminal illness. He was more or less alone in the world.  Nevertheless, his life was meaningful.  He went to various nursing homes in search of people who were worse off than he was.  He helped them, and in turn he gained a satisfaction that made life bearable and even joyous at times.

This man’s dream was to take a Caribbean Cruise before his passing. For years he had been collecting travel magazines and cutting out articles and photographs of the various Caribbean cruises.  My goal as his therapist was to support his dream of taking a Caribbean Cruise, and help him to actualize that dream.  During the course of our work together he registered for a cruise and was busy planning every moment of each day of his itinerary.

Unfortunately, I stopped working at that free clinic before he went on his cruise.  I was unable to see him off or to find out how he enjoyed his cruise.  I think about him every so often and wonder how he’s doing and if he’s still alive.  Perhaps it would have been worthwhile sticking it out at that clinic (making close to nothing) for just a few more months, so that I would have answers to my questions.  Regardless of being unable to quench my curiosity, I was able to support his dreams.

As therapists and helping professionals, our job is to support our clients in their efforts to live their life to the fullest, while helping them to differentiate dreams from nightmares.