As children we’re encouraged to dream. “Reach for the stars” is what we’re told. We’re encouraged to let our dreams be limitless.
Then, somewhere along the course of this crazy thing called life our dreams become altered. Somewhere along the lines it goes from “reach for the stars” to “reach for what is obtainable.” Somewhere along the lines, our dreams go from what makes us happy, to what is necessary to survive.
As a child, my dream was to be a writer.
Read MoreIf I’ve learned one thing about picking up and leaving everything I love behind for a fresh start, it’s that you don’t need anyone to get you through it but yourself.
Only you can choose a path of positivity or negativity, love or fear.
Read MoreSome of us are better equipped to deal with what feels like failure, and yet others can be so consumed emotionally and physically that starting from scratch just feels like what we do in life. Again and again we pick up, move on and decide what parts of our past experience are valuable enough to hold on to… and which parts we’d rather leave behind.
Most of us would probably agree that in some form or another, we are shaped by our past-- our life experiences, positive or negative, have a conditioning effect as we begin again.
Read MoreSometimes something so big happens that you can’t really understand it all at once.
Yet you must move forward, go through the motions – life is not optional. The sun rises and sets, rises and sets, with or without your head in the game. And that is where you find me here.
My mother died in March – she was the last piece of my original family.
Read MoreTradition stands in my family. The symbolism here is that while we were making breakfast from scratch, my sister and I were also starting our relationship from scratch. We had moments of peace in that breakfast where we both respected the tradition. We got to eliminate the distance between us and look at each other face-to-face instead of over Skype or email and get re-acquainted with each other’s human side.
We softened to the situation.
Read MoreStarting over at a new high paying job in a position that suits your attributes perfectly may make you nervous but it is also exciting; inversely, finding out you have lost your job with no prospects in sight in the future can dramatically change that experience to a freighting one. There is a third situation where people try to actively seek out new experiences willingly just for the excitement of it. These people are typically considered thrill seekers who just can't get enough of pushing the limits of their bodies, minds and their loved ones nerves.
In some instances the people who seek new experiences aren't out to conquer the world performing dangerous acts, but may show up as multiple carriers or hobbies. I fall into the latter category.
Read MoreWatching my almost toddler play outside this morning and being entirely too energetic and excited for 7am, I started thinking about how she views the world (and the morning), in comparison to how I view it.
She wakes up laughing (much earlier than my son ever did) and calling out for one of us to come in and get her out of bed. She giggles and plays while she eats her breakfast and watches a cartoon while we get ourselves ready for the day.
Read MoreThat was their world, but Larry and Veronica always kept an eye on the next step. Smiling together at night, after the kids were all home and safe in their beds, about the places they’d go and the things they’d see.
By 50, the kids were off at college, or married or moved away. The looming prospect of time to themselves seemed delicious and within their grasp.
Years of financial planning, saving and being patient so when the time came they would be able to go where they wanted, when they wanted and live out the rest of their days how they wanted had been their focus.
There’s no clear moment, looking back now, when it all changed.
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