Let's Meet in a Dream [Unauthorized Relay Essay 2023 Winter #1]

<Foreword>
I decided to take the plunge and participate in the "Unauthorized Relay Essay" project hosted by essayist Daki Ito, whom I have always thought was "interesting."It is a project where participants write reflections based on an initial article written by Daki-san (I'm not sure if that's the right way to address him), and then pass it on to the next person in a relay format. The reason my writing style is different from usual (using plain form) is that writing in the polite 'desu-masu' style would make the character count too high.Also, I borrowed the article structure from



Brave Moose's writing style.Now then,

let the main text begin

"Yasu-san, you know, I don't have a dream."

"Why? I feel like you might have some nice dreams, like wanting to be richer or wanting to be involved in people's happy lives."

"No, if I have a dream, then the 'me' who hasn't achieved it yet is a failure, and the 'me' who has achieved it is someone great, right? I don't want to think of my current self as a failure."

He was unique among the people I have met so far. He is a friend who became No. 1 in Japan for two consecutive years in insurance sales. He is a man who is like a bundle of dreams.

I had a similar way of thinking. Although I hadn't been able to verbalize it as well as he did, I think I'll take this opportunity to dig deeper.

.........
......

In school classrooms, at chain izakayas, or in places like group therapy, I have had many opportunities to talk about my dreams.

"What is your dream?"Every time I was asked that, I suffered. I have lived for over 40 years while bluffing with random, instant answers.

When the topic "How to find and how to give up on dreams" was presented by Daki Ito, I was honestly panicked. Oh no. This is the kind I'm bad at.

Since I happened to be at my parents' house, I asked my mother what my childhood dream was.

“In your elementary school graduation anthology, you wrote that the person you respect is ' Hiro Yoshida'. And you said your future dream was to ' appear in Yoshimoto Shinkigeki'.”

It’s a 'Mayuge-boon' moment. I have no memory of it. In this day and age, it feels like the 'Don't do the nipple drill!' gag. Then came the follow-up attack.

“When you were in junior high, you used to say things like ' My dream is to be a cult leader'.”

Mom, please, stop.

Because of things like that, I have absolutely no attachment to my own dreams. I haven't just given up on my old dreams; I've forgotten them entirely. But wait, 'dream is to be a cult leader'—was that a premonition of running an online salon? It’s easy to be teased for being cult-like, isn't it?

So. Dreams aren't things you easily forget. They shouldn't be a 'Mayuge-boon'. They shouldn't be a 'nipple drill' either.

Well, just as I was wondering what to do, I found this starting article.

……I see. So that’s how it is.

I run an online salon. People sometimes ask me, “What’s the future of the salon?” but if the salon didn't exist, those questions wouldn't exist either.

Starting the salon was a coincidence. It was all about momentum and going with the flow. By the way, the catalyst for opening the salon was actually 'failure,' which is the polar opposite of a dream. That story is long, so I’ll skip it.

Based on that experience, I would like to add one more element.

Encounters with people.

Professor Krumboltz, who proposed the Planned Happenstance Theory, said this:“80% of a person's chance events are determined by their actions up to that point.”

If so, wouldn't encounters have a major impact?

My dreams keep changing. Wanting to be a popular guy, publishing a book, opening a salon—everything starts with meeting people. In the first place, even Yoshimoto Shinkigeki started because I was watching comedy shows with my friends and getting excited about them back then.

My dreams are brought to me by people.

And dreams are discussed with friends.

I struggle to answer what my own personal dream is, but if it's a dream involving other people, I can answer without any trouble.

When people are involved, whether it comes true or not is something I cannot control myself. If so, there is no need to worry even if it doesn't come true. It's selfish, but it makes me feel at ease.

Dreams are born when you interact with people.

That is not limited to just me.

Encounters with people who are involved in this relay essay, running along with me, or reading it. I secretly think that right now, I might be getting swept up in someone else's dream.


(1376 characters)

[Unauthorized Relay Essay 2023 Winter]
Second Runner: morii oto-san

[Overview of this project]

[First runner running together]