Dreams

Someone recently asked what I considered a really interesting question.  It went something like “how long do you hold on to the dream?”
One of the reasons I found that so interesting is that there can come a time when a dream becomes a missed opportunity.  Like if my dream was to be a half back in the NRL it would be a dream that had become a missed opportunity.
There is something I never realized.  There is a reason they say, “age shall not weary them.”  Age does weary.  I was not told about it really, or if I was, then I did not understand.  I did not ask for it, and I sure did not see it coming, but I do not have the capacity I once did.  I am ok for shorter distances, but even then, I seem to pay a disproportionate amount physically for it.
Also, I have learned that a dream delayed need not be a dream lost.  It can be, but as long as I realize that failure is only another way not to do it, the dream remains.  Dreams are seldom easy but worthwhile dreams are always worth pursuing.   
I feel it is important if a person can, to set themselves up.  It is good to have enough to do what I want to.  I do not believe a person needs to be tight to be rich, but they need to be wise.  And “rich” is a relative term.  Rich to me is having enough for the dream.  If a dream requires a modest amount, and I have it, then I am rich.  If on the other hand a modest amount is needed for my dream, and I do not have it, or any way of having it, then I am poor.  I totally believe in intervention, but in the natural order of things, if I do not have it, I cannot do it.
Yet I do believe in holding things loosely.  I bought some timber off people one time.  They had it because they were replacing their deck.  I saw nothing wrong with what they were selling but I needed what they had.  They would not give me a two-dollar discount.  I bought the timber but though “you will always have trouble with money.”  They were clutching.  It does not matter how seemingly rich someone is, if they clutch, it will always seem their money is in a bag with holes.
I do not know how many I have read about who’s dream died, only to come alive again when the person ceased to clutch, and knew genuine freedom. I personally reckon that is healthy.  I do not have a mortgage on tomorrow - or even one minute from now.  I have seen examples of that on the news of late.  In a sense it does not matter how highly I am thought of, when I’m gone, I’m gone.
Also it seems some have a dream and through no fault of their own, circumstances change and the dream can no longer be a reality.  But I see that dreamers continue to dream.  It may be that the dream alters, but a dream is still there.
I find no matter how careful I am, it is the unexpected that can get me.  But that truly does not matter to me.  If I am pursuing a dream and the unexpected happens, then regrets do not dominate, but the continued possibilities.