Surviving and Dreaming

The Hoover Dam at the time it was being built was a place where men felt they could survive (by way of a paycheck) and dream (by way of being part of such a fantastic project). In the beginning, the stimulation of both surviving and dreaming was enough to blast through any rock canyon and do it with amazing strength and speed.

Yet what happens when fatigue sets in and the pay becomes standard issue, in other words, what happens when the thrill is gone?

For many, there was only one thing, to keep on, get the work done, see the job through, to the end. For others, young and old alike, the dreaming began to take priority and so they stayed long enough to get to the next job, whatever it was that felt closer to that dream.

But what about those conflicted with wanting to stay (for whatever reasons, the pay, the camaraderie, the security of having a job to go to) yet also wanting to leave the dam behind for another opportunity?

In fear of compromise, we do it everyday. The link between surviving and dreaming are like old friends. They are both very different yet hold equally important modes of resilience. Not staying for security and yet not leaving for opportunity, decisions were also made based on what was best for oneself.

How do we know what this means, to do what's best for oneself? Especially at critical times in our lives? Do we always stop and weigh the good with the bad, take account of the pros and the cons? Not always. But in the end, it seems we make our decisions by way of prior and ongoing education and through the experience of our own unique indeterminable past.

We draw from what we know so far...
Thus leading us to what we will know tomorrow...