Dream your dream in 2012 and ignore the eye roll

I watch a little video clip often on YouTube.  I might be getting taken, they might be gaming me, but I really don't care. Because it's what some of us, maybe most of us have dreamed at one time or another.  That we do something so astonishing, people are taken aback, and then break out in applause.  It will probably never happen, but for almost everyone, we've dreamed about being on a stage, or a field, a court or a ring, and raising our hands in triumph.

So go to YouTube and type in Susan Boyle Audition and you're there.  You'll see the frumpy Susan Boyle unable to explain where she lives, exactly, and you'll see the judge's incredulous look when she announces she'll perform I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables.  You'll see the banner that states "Susan Boyle, Unemployed, 47" without equivocation.  You'll see the audience stand and applaud, you'll see the judges, well at least two of them, stand and applaud, and you'll see people in tears, as they realize that this unattractive, middle aged woman has achieved her dream.

But I'd also like you to freeze the video at the 00:47 point.  Because we've all seen this look too.  Go ahead do it right now. 

You see, the young lady is probably a nice person, I'm not really sure.  But the roll of the eyes and the sarcastic laughter, we've all seen it before.  We've all expressed an idea, a hope, or a wish or a dream, only to have someone tell us, "You will never do that, because you're not good enough."

So let me share one thing with you from someone who knows what it feels like to be laughed at, dismissed, or criticized.

If anyone's ever sneered at your dream, laughed at your idea, or dismissed the notion that enthralls you, don't listen, they're probably old, cynical, and helpless.  They probably wish they'd thought about that, or dreamed that dream, or had the light bulb go on in the way you just did.

So here's what I do.  Listen politely.  Glean any small bit of advice that might be useful, and, don't discard the cynic...but most definitely discard the message they're sending to you.

In 2012, chase your dreams, live out your passion, be pleasing to the Lord in what He has placed squarely in your heart.  You won't regret it.