When Dreams Meet Reality. Questioning the Narrative.

As I lie down to end my day, last night’s dream lingers. I can't sleep. My thumb moves on its own, tapping the Instagram icon out of habit, and I see my 16-year-old niece post a heart-wrenching story of her classmate’s family being raided and torn apart.

I've always struggled with small talk and speaking about things that are not deeply meaningful to me.

But this is different. Today, the threads connect.

My memory from the night before crashes over me. In my dream, I drove along a breathtaking coast. I was on a sun-kissed beach getaway. For a moment, I let myself believe it was perfect.  My intuition whispered to me through a queasiness in my stomach, and my chest tightened with unease. My gut knew the truth before I did: this was no paradise. It was a masquerade where everyone smiled on cue while I asked the questions no one wanted to voice. The walls closed in, the air thickened. It felt like sleep paralysis, leaving me gasping for breath as I woke up. They tried to smother my voice, but I couldn’t let go of the need to know what was real.

As I lie there and read my niece's post, I'm struck by the parallel. The unfiltered truth about her community's reality is a stark contrast to the typical curated perfection. She's not performing for likes or special treatment. She's bearing witness.

We live in an age where narratives are crafted, polished, and served to us at lightning speed. News cycles shift focus before we can dig deeper. Voices tell us to stop asking uncomfortable questions. Who benefits from the paradise we’re shown? And what truth hides behind it?

But what if the most important thing we can do is exactly what made everyone uncomfortable in my dream? Keep asking. Not with cynicism that destroys, but with curiosity, and love, and a desire to know the truth. Ask: Who benefits from this story? What voices are missing? What am I not seeing behind the beautiful facade? And how can I truly find the paradise I was searching for?

My niece's generation understands this instinctively. They share raw stories. They question authority while creating their own narratives. They know the difference between authentic connection and performance for gain.

The most meaningful thing any of us can share is the truth as we see it, to voice the questions that keep us up at night, and to investigate rather than ignore.

In a world full of backwards driving through beautiful illusions, let's have the courage to slam the brakes and steer toward what's real.