Allow yourself no dreams, and there will be no disillusionments. Make the voyage; see what happens; hope for the best, but count on nothing. And perhaps this time we will do a better job of it.
Or perhaps not.
--Carpenter (from Hot Sky at Midnight by Robert Silverberg)
Don't dream. It is so easy to say those words - to write them. If you don't dream, you won't get hurt. If you don't dream, you will never feel the pain of loosing one, or watching it fade away. These are things that tear and rip at the heart.
And yet, there is something in us that compels us to dream. No matter how hard we try to keep it safe and secure - to avoid another scar on the heart, we continue to dream.
Part of being human is latching on to the desire for something better, the dream of everything working out right. We dream of the voyage, that everything is perfect.
No dreams, no disillusionments, no loss, accept it all as it happens. If only it were that easy. It is the stoic ideal. While some may strive for such peace of mind and serenity, the vast majority are human - we dream, and we feel pain.
And yet, if we were to take the advice of never dreaming, of never being hurt... we wouldn't be human anymore. In giving up our dreams, we lose our humanity.
Machines have less problems. I'd like to be a machine.
--Andy Warhol