On Wishes, Dreams and Pet Projects

When we graduated college, we all had grandiose dreams. Then life got in the way. We got ambitious, and decided to climb the ladder. Maybe we moved around for different jobs. We made new friends, traveled and experienced all kinds of adventures. Pretty soon, some of us found a life partner. We got married, took an overpriced honeymoon, got domestic, perhaps got a little crazy because we knew kids might be coming. And pretty soon the kids came. The babies took over our lives and our emotional state of being. The days consisted of laundry, feedings, doctor appointments, blockading toddlers from every possible danger in the house, preparing healthy organic meals for growing bodies, baby gym, baby swim classes, baby art, teething, exhaustion. Then the kids got older and started school, giving you 6.5 hours of uninterrupted work time. That's liberating for a while....but then one day you stop in the middle of writing an email and remember the dusty old dream. You post a note on your office wall with the dream in bright letters...and it sits there for a few months. You begin to hate the note.

Then one night you set your alarm for 5 a.m., and the next morning you get up after hitting the snooze button five times and start working on your dream. Some days you don't get up, or your work takes over, but the next day you get up and go at it again.

It doesn't matter matter what your dream is: maybe it's getting in shape or learning how to make the perfect crème brûlée or going to church again. Maybe it's writing a book or novella, which is mine. A dream may change over time, but the point is: pick one no matter how small or big and work on it until it's done or until you've realized it wasn't the dream your really wanted after all. If that's the case, change your dream into another pursuit. I have no idea where my dream journey will lead me or if I will abandon it eventually. I'm afraid about giving up in boredom and disillusionment, or not having the time or energy to keep chasing after it. I am deeply afraid of failure.

Our lives are filled to the brim with work, family, parenting and trying to stay healthy so we can meet our grandkids someday. It often feels like there's no room for anything else. But if you can, make time for that something else. It might lead you somewhere completely unexpected.

Happy dreaming! What's yours?