Yesterday I got to talking to a good friend of mine about some dealings that are going on in my life. Although I don't like stress, I do tend to attract it quite often.

One of the weaknesses in my thought patterns, my friend pointed out, was that they were all coming from my point of view - a point of view that apparently ran the spectrum from somewhat accurate to I was downright lying to myself for whatever reason.

I don't care to get into specifics with those that I have been involved with, but it got my brain turning the gears about how much we think about ourselves - and how everything appears to happen to you, as if it is your world, custom made for you.

I'm not sure how much this relates to other people, but it is hard for me to imagine that there aren't others who perceive the world like I do - that I am the star of the show, the show being the world I live in. Thankfully my good friend gave me some very helpful advice - you are simultaneously less and more important than you think you are.

Now let me explain - I was basing my actions on what I perceived others to think of me and what I perceived in others. That was not the reality. In my circle of friends, I am just another one of the group.

It is important to look out for yourself, but at the same time, you have to realize that you are not that important in the grand scheme of things. Events happen whether or not you are there. Things happen that you do not see or hear. Most things are beyond your control. So you cannot change your surroundings completely.

This might seem disheartening, and it is in a way, as it is very, very hard to change things on the macrocosm scale. But you can do it - must you must do it on a microcosm scale first.

You have to have a completely accurate view of what is going on around you. Only then can you change the big things.

I have always been a dreamer, one that likes to see the world for what it could be rather than what it is. But this ultimately does not work unless you can specifically change things on a person to person scale. You can dream, but your dream must be based on the accuracy of your small reality for it to be true and have a chance of succeeding.

The best advice I can give for dealing with the microcosm scale is to not assume. If you don't assume, you are ultimately forced to ask questions and gain a better view of what is going on. If you assume like I did, you end up wrong a better part of the time - something that might have dire consequences.

So dream, and dream big - just make sure that dream is grounded by your reality first.