“Let’s just say I dare to dream bigger dreams”, said a spunky student when the rest of the class was done with introducing themselves.
Quite a few sunsets and students later, the dreamer called again.
This time he wanted to be a sponge and observe in first person the special sauce that made a technology company, a technology company. I said we didn’t have any and wouldn’t he rather stay where he was since with us the most likely ending was being broke and hungry. He wanted to be broke and hungry since you dream different dreams on a full stomach.
Can’t argue with that logic…
And that is how it has been. One dream, one dreamer at a time.
Teaching is a funny business. It does interesting things to your insides.
When I first stood in front of a white board and a projector, I wasn’t sure if I had any right to be there. I knew only a little, not a lot and my knees wouldn’t quit shaking. But as I gave, my students gave back more. I learned as much, some times more, from them, than they did from me. Every now and then you could witness the opening of a door in a mind that had been closed before; a glint of insight, where there was confusion. If you were lucky, you caught someone with stars in their eyes; if you were truly blessed, you ran into a dreamer.
All teachers have a favorite course. An elixir, that lightens burden, cleanses soul, inspires and moves the instructor to a different level. A battery recharge and instant rehab rolled in one. To be fair it’s not just the course. Each course has its own audience, its own mix. You may have your secret sauce, but without the right ingredients, the perfect ambiance and an appreciative audience, you may as well cook in vain.
My elixir is the dreaming course. Every time I teach it, it’s a fresh transfusion. I never thought that the inspiration of souls I had never met before could move me. That their passion would feed my own; their hope, rid my despair.
That is what dreams do.
To the dreamers in my class, Thank you.