My coffee had gone cold today.

Not because I was busy.

Not because I had somewhere to be.

But because, for the first time in a long time, I was sitting with myself.

No phone.

No notifications.

No noise.

Just me…

…and a question I couldn’t answer.

What is my dream?

Such a simple question.

Yet I sat there in silence.

The more I searched, the quieter everything inside me became.

And then a thought crossed my mind that refused to leave.

Why did we do this to ourselves?

When did life become so loud that we stopped listening to ourselves?

As children, dreaming was effortless.

We wanted to become someone.

Create something.

Travel somewhere.

Write something.

We never wondered whether our dreams were practical.

We simply believed.

Then life happened.

Responsibilities happened.

Bills happened.

Expectations happened.

Before we knew it, life became one deadline after another.

And somewhere in between…

without even realizing it…

we became so busy building a life that we forgot to ask ourselves why we were building it.

Sometimes I wonder if we’ve walked so far in one direction that even if someone stopped us today and asked,

“What is your dream?”

we would close our eyes…

search every corner of our heart…

and still struggle to answer.

Not because we never had dreams.

But because somewhere along the way…

we stopped knowing what they were.

I kept thinking…

If someone handed me a blank sheet of paper today and simply said,

“Write down your biggest dream.”

Could I?

Honestly…

I don’t know.

I’d probably just stare at that blank page…

waiting for an answer that refuses to come.

Not because I don’t want to dream.

But because I don’t remember the last time I asked myself that question.

Sometimes I look around and see people who have everything they once wished for.

Successful careers.

Beautiful homes.

Loving families.

A life that seems complete.

And yet…

there’s still something in their eyes.

A quiet emptiness.

Maybe you’ve seen it.

Maybe you’ve felt it.

Maybe that’s because achievements and dreams were never the same thing.

Achievements make life look successful.

Dreams make life feel alive.

There’s a quiet difference.

One the world cannot see.

Only your heart can.

I’ve always believed something.

Dreams don’t let you sleep.

Not because they steal your peace…

But because they give you purpose.

They whisper,

“Wake up… there’s still something left for you.”

A dream isn’t another responsibility.

It’s the reason you want tomorrow to arrive.

The quiet voice that refuses to leave you alone.

And maybe…

that’s the hollow space so many of us carry inside.

We keep trying to fill it with success.

Money.

Recognition.

Another achievement.

For a while…

it works.

Until the silence returns.

Because perhaps that empty space was never asking for any of those things.

Perhaps it was only asking us one question.

“What does your heart really want?”

So today, I’m not going to ask you to chase your dream.

Not yet.

First…

sit with yourself.

The way I sat with myself this morning.

Make yourself a cup of coffee.

Keep your phone away.

Let the silence feel uncomfortable.

Take a blank sheet of paper.

And ask yourself just one question.

If God stood before me today… smiled… and said, “I’ll grant you one wish”… what would I ask for?

Not what sounds practical.

Not what others expect.

Just one wish.

The one your heart has quietly protected all these years.

And if the answer doesn’t come…

Don’t force it.

Maybe you’ve spent years listening to everyone else’s voice.

It takes time to hear your own again.

Maybe your dream isn’t lost.

Maybe it’s simply been waiting…

for you to come looking for it.

Maybe we’ve spent so many years becoming the person the world needed…

that we quietly stopped becoming the person we were meant to be.

This morning, my coffee went cold.

But it gave me something much warmer.

An honest conversation with myself.

One that I should have had years ago.

Before you chase another goal…

Pause.

Sit with yourself.

And ask…

If no one could judge me… if nothing could stop me… what would my heart choose?

Maybe the answer won’t change your life today.

But asking the question just might.

Because perhaps the most beautiful journeys don’t begin with a destination.

They begin with one honest conversation.

With yourself.

My coffee had gone cold.

But for the first time in years… I had finally sat with myself.