We dream about what we want to be and what we want the world to be like. Our dreams are our individual and collective aspirations. What you dream most ardently about is what you place above everything. And we care about things in the same order. What we care about measures our greatness. To say this is to presuppose that everyone is great, which is, by and large, true. The greatest person by conventional standards will be the one who is selflessly giving. And almost everyone is ‘selflessly giving’ in some measure. Therefore, everyone is great in varying degrees.
Now, even the standard of greatness is varied, the end result will remain the same. For instance, if you say that the most merciless monster is the ‘greatest’ in a particular system of belief in the world of monsters, we would find that we all are ‘merciless monsters’ to some degree and, thus, ‘great’ in varying degrees, again.
In the world of greed, the greediest is the greatest. We all are greedy to some extent and, therefore, great in varying degrees, yet again. So, no matter what standard we apply, we would find that we are great and mean at the same time.
When it comes to dreams, a selfless fellow would dream of doing more and more for other; a monster would dream of plundering and ravaging as much as he wants; a greedy man would dream of hogging all that the world has to offer. And thus, a person’s dreams would remain an index to his greatness no matter what ‘greatness’ means.
Therefore, the adage ‘A man’s dreams are an index to his greatness‘ holds firm among men and monsters, and in heaven and hell, alike.
First published on my WordPress Blog on July 29, 2008
