I read an article about scientific methods for traveling through the solar system.  Not hyper, warp, or faster-than-light drives that fuel many science fiction TV shows and novels.  There were ideas about using ion drives, which are best described as low thrust, but long on fuel.  Not a massive engine, but over time, the drive can eventually speed a ship or probe to be very fast.  Other ideas include the use of solar sails, which uses radiation pressure for thrust.

These ideas are still very young and unfortunately, we’re not zipping through the solar system on large spaceships, but one day perhaps we will be.  We’ll explore the planets and moons, or even gather and capture the vast amounts of untapped resources.

I love science fiction, and read many books about populated outposts in the solar system, or ships exploring and traveling through the planets, but the simple truth of the matter is that without people who can envision and dream, many practical things may never come to pass.

Take a look around the house you’ll see many things that were just an idea or dream at one point.  I sit down on my very small, light laptop, and am glancing over watching an older episode of NCIS on my LCD TV.  Just a hundred years ago, these items were not conceived.  Twenty years ago, the technology was not close to these levels, but some people had ideas and dreamed big.

People once dreamed of flying with the birds, and or traveling into space.  We built fragile airplanes of fabric and glue, and were actually used in combat operations during World War 1.  Thirty years after, we were breaking the sound barrier in rocket powered aircraft.

The next time you pull out your smart phone, remember, this was only an idea at one point.  Without those with a vision, and the drive to move ahead, many of the things we have today would never have been invented.  Just remember, that as you program your GPS, or tune into your satellite radio, or if you have to fly across the country, take a moment to realize these things were products of a dreamer.

Day 8 of my journey into gratitude for things I observe, I’m thankful for the dreamers and visionaries.  At some point, even a wild and crazy idea may come to be a reality.