Living Your Dreams
I welcome you to link to this article. If you'd like to reproduce it, please keep all attribution and copyright information intact, include a link to my web site (www.judywolf.com) and let me know:
Judy Wolf
315-853-6993 (phone & fax)
pr@judywolf.com
(Excerpt
from Get Going! Discover and Live Your Travel
Dreams
workshop resource book by Judy Wolf)
Living
Your Dreams:
Uncovering the Truth Behind the Myth
Let's face it, living your dreams isn't a cakewalk. After all, if it were, wouldn't everyone be doing it? Living your dreams takes focus, effort, dedication…and a willingness to admit that you've got such a thing in the first place.
Why might it be difficult to admit that we have dreams? Well, for one, ours is a very pragmatic culture. We value toil and enterprise. Many of us live within an organized construct of bill payments, professional expectations, and personal responsibilities, and our self concepts are closely tied to how we function and are viewed by others within that system. How would people regard us if we stepped outside that known sphere? More important, how would we define ourselves without those familiar landmarks? These are basic questions, but they point toward a fundamental challenge inherent to the quest of living one's dreams.
If you think of dreams as something outside the framework of your daily existence, you're not alone. Just like you, many people wonder what life would be like if this or that responsibility or familiar surrounding were replaced with a new experience. If you think of dreams as unattainable, however, you're probably limiting yourself unnecessarily. And again, you're not alone. I've talked to hundreds of people who say things like "I'd love to take three months and travel to Italy, but…" and that's where they stop.
The myth of "living your dreams" says that everything would be perfect if only this thing happened or changed or shifted. The truth is, we take ourselves with us wherever we go, and "living your dreams" is an ongoing process. Decisions we make every day move us closer to our dreams, or further from our own personal truth.
The first step is admitting what we want. The next is to find practical, day-to-day decisions and actions that move us closer to (or keep us from) attaining that goal.
Keep in mind that this may prove more challenging than it sounds. People put up all kinds of roadblocks when it comes to reaching their dreams. After all, who wants to lose a dream? As long as it remains "unattainable," it's also untainted-a paradise-and dreaming about it can be a mental release from whatever we hate and tolerate in our daily lives. Are you willing to risk it?
So you see, courage may be called for in more ways than you expect when you dare to live your travel dreams: courage-defined as having fear, but moving forward anyway and carrying your whole self into the experience. I promise you that opening up to possibility and opportunity --even if your "dream" turns out to be a disappointment -- will change your life. You'll discover in the process that unique tickle of inspiration that leads you closer to your passion and delight, whatever the context. And suddenly, your day-to-day existence will hold promise and adventure that you may never have noticed (or acknowledged) before. As Marcel Proust says, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Copyright (c) 2002 Judy Wolf
About
the Author:
Judy Wolf (www.judywolf.com)
is a world traveler, freelance writer, speaker, and whitewater kayak instructor.
She's taken numerous, extended solo journeys around the world, traveling
by foot, bus, jeep, camel, truck, boat, train, plane, elephant, and bicycle
to over 30 countries on five continents. She currently lives in upstate
New York with her husband and border collie, where she's working on a
book-length travel narrative about her most recent adventures…that is,
when she's not plunging off waterfalls or entertaining the dog.
FREE Newsletter
Sign
up for my free newsletter
Adventurous Life
and get
monthly updates on tips, links, stories & resources to inspire you to
lead the life you envy!
home
| travels | workshops
| college programs | speaking
| voice & acting | resources
| newsletter
profile | contact &
media kit
site
map | privacy policy
Copyright © 2001-04 Judy Wolf
