Living the Dream - Even When It Hurts

By Luke DeSalvo

There’s a strange moment in every creator’s life where the dream finally becomes real — and it’s nothing like the movie montage promised.

You do the thing. You finish the project. You pour years into something that's equal parts devotion, madness, and love.

And then… the world shrugs.And yet… I'm proud. Deeply. Quietly. Fiercely. Because I carved  imagination and gave it breath. Because it's real.

Creation, I’m learning, isn’t always applause. Sometimes it’s a meditation. Sometimes it’s a wound. Sometimes it’s a lifeline.

Sometimes it’s therapy disguised as art.

And even when the world isn't watching, the act still matters. Like a monk sweeping a temple floor no one else sees — the devotion is the reward.

I used to think “living your dream” meant success, momentum, traction, numbers. But I realize now — living your dream is the act itself. I am living mine every day I create.

And I didn’t arrive here alone.

To my wife — my partner in every sense — editor, narrator, visionary, grounding force. Thank you for believing in the worlds I chase and helping me shape them into something others can touch. Your voice has given life to so many pieces of this journey, literally and spiritually.

To my mother, whose design and presence have followed my creative life like a quiet North Star. Thank you. Your encouragement has been a foundation.

To every ally who showed up not with money but with words, a comment, a share, a simple “I see what you're doing” — thank you. Support isn't always measured in sales. Sometimes it’s measured in being witnessed.

This year I learned that creation doesn’t always pay you in currency.

Sometimes it pays in meaning. Sometimes in discipline. Sometimes in your own becoming.

And yes — sometimes it pays in silence.

But silence isn't failure. Silence is incubation. The space before the next breath. The winter before spring reveals what grew beneath the soil.

A new project rises — one I've tended for over fifteen years. A dream that has been simmering, alchemizing, waiting. This next work will be the spine of my future blog entries and a journey deeper into the unconscious, myth, and meaning.

The new adventure begins in 2026. Stay tuned for this epic masterpiece.

Creation is slow magic. Alchemy takes time.

 But trust me. It's coming.

Thank you for walking this path with me. Thank you for witnessing the dream as it grows through each stage — awkward, raw, sacred.

Stay tuned.

Aloha and see you on the next level. — Luke