I have wanted to write a blog post about this topic for a while now, but wasn’t quite sure where to start.  I knew how I felt on the subject, but wasn’t sure how people may react to my point of view.  You see, I am not o.k. with an ” ordinary life “.  Being ” content ” would never be enough for me, nor would doing things the way everyone else does. That would just be boring.  I have never been a ” sheep ” that follows the crowd – I prefer to have my own thoughts.   I really believe that there must be more to life than the whole work-eat-sleep routine I have often referred to in my posts.  Existing is what many do – I would like to ” live “, and fully experience life, and all the joys it can bring.  Finding the key to doing that may be the tricky part …

     As I was reading the little local paper this morning, I glanced at my Horoscope, and was struck by what I read : ” For some people, living their dreams is not simply a nice idea, it is a duty.  You may be one such person. ”  Now, whether you believe in horoscopes or not, this expressed precisely how I feel.  It went on to talk about the fact that I should stop worrying about the ” how and why “, and that I should take some risks.  ( something I rarely do )  It also said ” as ready as you are to embark on an adventure, a few key things must change . ”

     This all made total sense to me.  I absolutely feel that life is too short and precious to waste doing things that bring you no joy.  Most of us, at some time in our lives, have had jobs that we go to just for the paycheque, just to try and pay the bills.  We may have absolutely no interest in our job, have no desire to go there, but we dutifully go, because ” that’s what everyone does “.  We tell ourselves, ” It’s not forever “, ” it’s a means to an end ” or a ” stepping stone “, but we all know those months turn into years, and next thing we know, we’ll be retiring, and wondering why we never tried anything that really interested us, or made us happy. Work is just one example of how we sell ourselves short in life, but you get my point.

     In the past 5 years, I have thought of the things I most wanted to do, ( make a CD, and meet my childhood crush ) and have gone out and made them happen.  It’s not always easy, and things don’t always turn out quite as you expect, but even having accomplished those 2 small things ( significant to me, though ) I now have proof that dreams can come true.   We all have things we would love to do, given the opportunity – often this would require a lot of money, and/or free time – so it rarely becomes reality.   For example, I would love nothing more than to be able to work on my music every day, to have the free time to dedicate to it, that is necessary to get anywhere.  I fantasize about how wonderful it would feel to not have to go to work every day to try and pay the mortgage, or worry about bills all the time. 

     I often wonder how the ” lucky ones ” feel – the people that are already doing something they truly love and are passionate about, and either have someone financially backing or supporting them ( so they don’t have to drain their time and energy with a ” day job ” ) or they’re already making a living doing what brings them joy.  I wonder if those rare few people really realize how fortunate they are, and that they are by far the exception to the rule.  Obviously, there are those that are handed things, but I think most people that are living their lives doing what they really want to have worked very hard to make it happen.  These people were not o.k. being ” content” , either – they wanted more, and after putting their minds to it, and being willing to put in the work, time, effort and dedication needed, made things happen for themselves.  They did not just sit around wishing for a better life – they did something about it.

     It always makes me sad when I see people who look like they are weary of life.  ( I have seen that in the mirror before – I certainly don’t pretend to be happy all the time )  I wonder what those people hoped for during their lifetime.  Were there exotic destinations they’d hoped to visit one day, did they want to be an Actor, but their parents discouraged them ?  I just feel that most people, for whatever reasons, don’t allow themselves to do the things that would make them happy.  We are our own worst enemies, for the most part.  We limit ourselves, put invisible ” roadblocks ” in our own paths.  It’s easy to say ” Life has dealt me a bad hand ” or whatever, and just not bother trying based on that, but everyone deserves better than that.  It is also easy to think others are better off than us, financially, socially, whatever, but until you live their lives, you don’t really know – it is just your perception of them.  Everybody has struggles, everyone has pain – nobody has a ” perfect life “, despite appearances.

     There are a lot of things in my own life that need to change before I will feel I have truly done all I can to realize all of my own goals/dreams.  I am working on it, but am fully aware that I have a long way to go.  Perhaps not every goal will be reached, and that’s alright, as long as I at least care about myself enough to try.  It’s time to stop with the excuses/reasons why I can’t /shouldn’t do things, it’s time to stop limiting myself, or feeling I am not worthy of real happiness.  This is not just about me – most people I know are not ” living ” their lives either, they are caught in a rut, a routine, what they feel is ” normal “, what we are “expected” to do.  I say that’s not good enough.  We were not given the gift of life so that we would be unhappy, exhausted, and complain all the time.  There has to be more to it, and it’s up to us to actually do something about it. 

     I plan on continuing to set goals for myself, and am hopeful that I may reach some more of them.  I don’t want to waste any more precious time.

     What would you really love to do?  What are you interested in, and without making any excuses, why aren’t you going after it with every fibre of your being ?  Living our dreams is not simply a nice idea – it is our duty, and it is the best gift we can ever give ourselves.  No regrets – no ” what if’s ” – no wondering – just be happy.  If we don’t try, we may never know …