What Are Dreams?--A Paragraph a Day

I sometimes have to wonder about dreams and their value to us.  I like them, and I have in my life pursued some of my dreams.  I ended up living in Europe for more than four years, total, because I went after dreams instead of after money or career, for example.  But even as I think of how nice it was to be in Europe and to learn what I learned there, I also have to wonder what life would have been like if I had stayed in place not to play it safe, but to start a journey inside, a spiritual journey that might have opened my eyes and heart in much different ways.  I think of the monks who spend their lived in spiritual meditation, who have no desire to travel to other places, nor any need.  Are they better off spiritually than I am?  Have they progressed farther than I have?  Are they able to be more mindful of their lives that they're living?  I know that some of the happiest and most content people on the planet have been people who never traveled, who never dreamed of doing more than they were doing, but who put their all into everything they did.  I really do like dreams and dreaming, but could it be that chasing our dreams pulls us away from what may be the absolute best for us, leading us to not be able to reach certain heights right where we are, in the here and now, every day?  I really can't answer that question, of course, but it's definitely worth pondering!