Dreams

Mark and I have a dream that we will move to the Caribbean and live on a sailboat when we retire.  I'll be the chef and he'll be the captain, though by "captain" I in no way imply that he'll be the boss.  We'll charter trips for couples who want a week on a sailboat without any of the work.  We'll typically be found off the coast of St. John, our favorite island because it is 60% nature preserve (donated to the US government by Rockefeller).  

There's only one problem with our dream.  Neither one of us knows a lick about sailing.  We've been on sailboats a few times and loved it, but we don't know the difference between a beam and a boom.  Granted, we have about 25 years to learn, but if we continue our current course, we'll never achieve our dream.

Many of us treat our dreams this way - as something that resides in our heads but never takes shape.  We blame bills, fatigue, our children, life circumstances, parents.  We blame anything and anyone but ourselves.  The truth is that we want the dream without the work  and sacrifice.  A good friend of mine once said, "I want to want to lose weight."  She wanted to shed pounds but she didn't want to invest the energy it will take to shove down carrots and fiber bars for six months.  I hear ya, sister!

Most dreams don't happen overnight.  They take initial passion and purpose followed by planning and execution.  They take determination and sacrifice.  Are you willing to give something up in order to achieve your dreams or are you satisfied with a fleeting smile as you doze off to sleep and think about that sailboat?

Update: This is the first day I've woken without a headache!  The nightmares have also eased up a bit.  Thank goodness!  The headaches are expected to continue for the next six months or so, but it's really nice to have a morning without one.