Are you living your dreams? When was the last time you asked yourself this question and really gave it some thought?
If you're not currently living your dreams, then it's time to start. It's a process that doesn't just happen overnight, but you'll never get where you want to be if you don't get started. And if you've never contemplated the idea, then it's time to start doing a little daydreaming to figure out what your dreams are.
I'll give you an example of some of my dreams (I have many) ...
My Family Dream
I've had my family dream come true, sharing my life with my wonderful husband for the past few decades of my life, along with raising and homeschooling our children. My family brings much joy to my life, and I couldn't imagine going through life without them. We enjoy and value spending time together, so I consider myself blessed that they also like to take part in some of my other dreams.
My Montana Dream
Living in Montana is another dream that has become reality for me. I grew up in the flat farmlands of the Midwest, and when I was about eight years old I was captivated by a photo I saw of the Rocky Mountains and said, "I'm going to live in the mountains someday." My husband and I finally cut loose and took our journey to Montana over twenty years ago when our first three children were little, and not a day goes by without a deep feeling of gratitude to God for being able to live where we do. I am continually awed by our mountains and can't imagine living anywhere else ever again. Although I wasn't born in Montana, I am a Montana girl at heart.
My Outdoors Dream
This one goes hand in hand with my Montana dream. I discovered the outdoors when I was in elementary school and had the opportunity to go to camp for two weeks one summer. I loved every part of it! (Well, not actually the ticks and mosquitoes part, but everything else.) While I didn't have many outdoors opportunities again until I met my husband and started backpacking with him and his brother, I knew nature and the woods were a deep part of me. Coming to Montana only magnified this as I was able to get out into the mountains with my family. This is a dream I am continuing to work on, as I want to get out as much as I can work into my daily life, and to also get back as far as I can go. Fitness plays a big part of this dream, as I have some goals to do some mighty big trips that I haven't yet thought I could do, but am certainly working towards. Where my limits are I have yet to discover, as I am continually becoming more and more adventuresome the more I get out there and do it. There is so much out there calling me to come and experience.
My Handmade Dream
I've always had a sense of intrigue and admiration for handmade, even as a young girl. I loved to make things with my own two hands and imagination, and I was fascinated to watch my grandma and other adults in my life make such amazing things with theirs. As I got older, my passion for handmade continued to grow with me. Part of my handmade dream was to not only make things for myself and for gifts, but also to be able to sell my handmade creations to others who are delighted to purchase and receive them for themselves or to give as gifts. I've had a part-time handmade business for over twenty-five years now, and I continue to work on my handmade dream as it continues to evolve over time.
My Photography Dream
I love nature, and I enjoy capturing on film the beauty that God has created all around me. Well, it used to be film back in photography class. The experience of framing in just what I wanted in my viewfinder, developing my own roll of film, and seeing my photos come to life in the dark room, was always a thrill. Then came along the digital world. While no longer using a dark room to reveal my photographs, I now have the joy of taking as many photos as my heart desires without any fear of running out of film in the middle of an extended mountain excursion (I just have to watch my battery power). Pursuing my photography dream goes along with two of my other dreams: my outdoors dream in that nature is my favorite photographic subject, and my handmade dream as I sell my photos on note cards and such. All of which are continual pursuits in my life.
My Organizational Dream
I've always thrived best when things around me are tidy and organized. Even as a little girl in third grade, I remember the joy I felt from keeping my room neat and clean... everything put away in its place, bed made, floor swept, etc. This was routinely done daily without anyone telling me to do so. I loved "keeping house" and having everything in order. But move down the road to several years and kids later with many more daily responsibilities, and it wasn't quite so easy to keep everything in order all the time. Sometimes things could fall apart and get quite messy. Which didn't sit well with me at all, and was quite frustrating at times. So it has been one of my dreams to get back to living life more relaxed with orderly surroundings. I've decided it's possible if I want it bad enough. And I do. I'm in the process of going through everything in our house and storage areas with my family, to completely bring back order once again. The more progress we make, the better we all feel. And it feels great knowing I'm going to achieve this reality this time around, as this time I am fully dedicated to it. This dream is important to me, as I know what a real difference complete order makes in my life, and how it affects achieving my other dreams. And I know what a difference it makes for my entire family. It's fully worth the effort!
My Fitness Dream
I was very active in my youth and into my high school years, both in sports and summer activities. But as adult life came along, including an office job for a while and eventually six children over the next couple of decades in my life, I became less fit and gained a little extra weight that I did not appreciate. Life was busy, and even though I was still somewhat active and also exercised more intensely here and there in an on-again-off-again fashion, I just didn't make fitness enough of a priority in my life. Eventually I injured both of my knees in a skiing accident (severely tore my MCL's) that took about four months for recovery. After that I decided it was time to make health and fitness a top priority in my life to help me in my daily life and in achieving other dreams I had. I got really serious about my fitness routine and lost the extra weight I had gained (getting back into my high school size clothes again), and got more fit than I'd been in many years. I've felt so much better with increased day-to-day energy, and am able to do bigger mountain treks than I could before. You might say I've become addicted to exercise and fitness now, as I refuse to live without it anymore. It's become such a natural part of my life now, just about as important to me as eating and breathing.
My Coaching Dream
Unlike the others, this is a fairly new dream for me. But my desire to help people is certainly not knew at all. I've always loved to help others whenever I reasonably could. As I get older and gather more and more knowledge and life experience, I have developed a passion to share with others what I have learned in my own life. I firmly believe that none of us live in a vacuum learning all by ourselves. We all learn from each other and from life itself in our interactions with each other. After sharing with others in many different ways over time, I decided what I like to share with others the most is my passion for fitness (because I see how it directly affects everything else we do in life) and my passion for life in living our dreams. Others I have helped have encouraged me to continue on this path, so it is my hope that I will be able to help you in some small way, too. May we all continue to learn from each other in this journey called life.
I know I have a lot of dreams (or goals), but they all have their place in my life. It would be much easier to achieve some of them if I had fewer to concentrate more of my time and energy on, but I do like variety and challenge in life. :)
So what about you? What are your dreams? Are you living them? If not, it's time to start. :)