554 Keep your dreams in a drawer.

[Today's Quote]
If you keep your dreams in a drawer instead of throwing them away, you can take them out whenever you need them.

Don't you feel a kind of pressure, like "If you're a teacher, you should talk about your dreams"?

Chased by daily lessons, dealing with parents, and interacting with colleagues, before you know it, you don't even have the energy to think about what's for dinner, let alone your own dreams.

When days like that continue, you might suddenly feel uneasy, wondering what your dream even was in the first place.

But dreams aren't things that have to be realized right away, you know.

You can just keep them in the back of a drawer and take them out when you need them.

For example, a dream like "I want to learn with children overseas someday."

Even if you can't fulfill it right now, that thought can enrich that teacher's lessons.

Dreams are like small flashlights that illuminate the reality right in front of you.

You don't have to keep it lit all the time; you can just turn it on when you need it.

In fact, the small courage to hold onto your dreams while setting them aside for a moment might be an essential strength for continuing as a teacher for a long time.

There is no need to blame yourself for putting your dreams away in a drawer.

After all, that drawer is right there inside you, and you can open it whenever you want.

Words by Toyohiro Akiyama.