ISO 1600 | 50mm | f 4.0 | 1/200 sec

Have you ever invested time, energy, effort, thought, and care into the development and pursuit of something wonderful, only to have your hopes dashed to pieces and your dreams come crashing to the ground?  Maybe it was a potential opportunity that never developed, maybe it was a friendship that just fell apart, maybe it was a life-long aspiration that will never materialize, maybe it was an idea that just didn’t fly…

We’ve all designed and built our share of paper airplanes.  We’ve taken the time to read the instructions, fold on the dotted lines, and ensure that our creases were straight.  With some effort and a delicate touch, we’ve transformed a once simple piece of ordinary paper into something that has the potential to soar through the skies.  Until it is tested, however, we have no way of knowing the durability or sturdiness of our design.  What looks good on paper may only be good on paper, there’s no guarantee that our plane will make it off the ground.

As with anything, there will always be successes as well as failures.  While at times our pursuits will take us to new heights, often we’ll find ourselves and our dreams plummeting to the ground, shot down by unexpected circumstances, difficulties, or the harsh realities of life.  Though we may survive the impact, we are often left with shattered dreams and the wreckage of what once were beautiful aspirations.  And while dreams can be patched together and old hopes can be made to fly again, it’s never quite the same; no matter the amount of repair, a wrecked plane never flies straight again.

While it is painful to let go of those things that are dear to us, to forget about those hours of invested blood, sweat, and tears, sometimes the best thing we can do is move on, forgetting the past and looking forward to the future.  Hoping for things that can never be is a fruitless pursuit.  Strive and persevere for the things that are yet to come, for this is what true dreamers do.