Dreams have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are

“Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely.” Thus spoke Erma Bombeck, the gentle humorist whose words carried not only laughter but truth. In this saying lies a revelation about the nature of dreams and the price of vision—that to dream deeply, to truly desire something beyond the grasp of the world, is to walk a path that few will understand. Every dreamer, whether artist, inventor, or seeker of the soul, knows this truth well: the dream belongs to one heart alone, and that solitary ownership is both its power and its burden.

Erma Bombeck, though known for her wit, was no stranger to the quiet ache of aspiration. Beneath her humor was the wisdom of one who had struggled, failed, and risen again through persistence. Her words speak of a truth as ancient as creation—that the birth of every great dream begins in isolation. The dreamer must first carry it within, unseen, unshared, a fragile ember that would die if exposed too soon to the cold winds of doubt. This is the loneliness of vision, when one stands between what is and what could be, sustained only by faith in the unseen.

In every age, those who have dreamed greatly have walked this road of solitude. Galileo, gazing at the heavens, saw worlds unknown while others mocked him. Emily Dickinson, the quiet poet of Amherst, wrote her verses in solitude, her genius hidden until after her death. Nikola Tesla, the brilliant mind of electricity, labored alone in the silence of invention, his visions too strange for the world of his time. Each of them bore their dream like a secret flame—too bright to be shared, too sacred to be explained. Their loneliness was not failure but consecration, for the dreamer must often stand apart until the world is ready to see what they have seen.

This loneliness, however, is not one of despair but of purpose. For a dream, like a child, must have a single guardian in its infancy. Others may help it grow later, but in the beginning, it belongs to one heart alone. The dreamer must nurture it through doubt, feed it through fear, and protect it from those who do not understand. This sacred solitude is the crucible in which all creation is formed. Even the greatest works of art, the boldest discoveries, and the purest revolutions were once held in silence by a single soul who refused to let go.

Yet the loneliness of the dreamer also reveals a divine paradox: that what begins in solitude often ends in unity. When the dream is finally born into the world, when others see and share in its light, the dreamer’s isolation transforms into connection. The loneliness fades, replaced by the joy of knowing that one’s private vision has become a shared reality. But this joy can only come to those who endure the solitude first—those who love their dream enough to walk with it through darkness before it finds its dawn.

Consider Martin Luther King Jr., who dreamed of a world of equality long before such a vision seemed possible. For years, his dream was his alone, met with hostility, doubt, and suffering. Yet he held it, unbroken, until his voice awakened the conscience of a nation. His loneliness was vast, but it was also holy, for it gave birth to a vision that now lives in millions of hearts. So it is with all who dare to dream—their isolation becomes the soil from which humanity’s greatest blossoms grow.

So, my child of wonder and hope, if you find yourself alone in your dream, do not despair. Loneliness is the shadow cast by vision. Do not seek comfort in the crowd, for their approval will come too soon and kill what has not yet ripened. Instead, walk your path with patience and faith. Guard your dream until it is strong enough to stand in the open air. The world may not understand you now—but it will, in time.

And when that time comes, when the dream you carried alone becomes the light that guides others, you will know that your solitude was not in vain. For as Erma Bombeck reminds us, the dream belongs first to one, but it is through that one that it may one day belong to all. Therefore, cherish your solitude, hold fast to your vision, and remember: to be a dreamer is to be both lonely and luminous, for you walk the path between darkness and creation—and it is in that sacred space that miracles are born.