The Life of Your Dreams
When I woke up this morning, the air was equal parts cool and crisp as the sun tossed golden pinks onto the clouds resting above the mountains. As it continued to rise and usher in the in cooler daytime hues, I considered my plans for the day ahead - hiking through the transforming foliage, wandering quaint streets with a dear friend, eating great food and sipping heady toppers - I couldn’t help but bask in gratitude for this life I get to live.
It’s true, not every day of my life is spent frolicking in a picturesque mountain town in Vermont or exploring the seaside cliffs in Maine, but still...when this adventure is over, I get to go home to a warm, dry house, I can fill up my fridge without worry, I am paid fairly to do meaningful work, and I have so many people, near and far, who deeply love and care for me. There are people in the world who dream of a life like mine, even the everyday parts (and of course the adventurous, picturesque parts, too).
I’ve been holding that idea lately, turning it over gently in my mind, passing it back and forth between careful hands. My life - right now, just as it is - is someone else’s dream. What a gift it is for me to be living it, to steward my present and someone else’s hope for their future.
I’d be lying if I omitted the fact that I still picture much more for my life. Don’t we all?
There are many experiences and relationships and things we dream of having; however, instead of making comparisons or yearning after what we don’t have yet, let’s choose to wander contentedly through this life we’ve been given the privilege to live. Let’s choose a life with open hands and simple, wholesome gratitude. Inevitably, the colors around us will change with the seasons, and we can choose to embrace them, and as the music takes on a new rhythm, we can choose to and keep on dancing. We can look fondly on the past, be grateful in the present, and be hopeful for the future all at once.
Furthermore, I’m confident there’s someone out there living our dreams, even the parts we haven’t quite begun to see or understand yet (or dared to hope for). And as I think of those people, I hope they, too, live their lives with gratitude, knowing that they have the sacred gift of living the lives of our dreams and our futures.
Here’s the truth: your life is a profound, wildly beautiful, holy gift, so it is my sincere hope that you begin each day with wholesome gratitude, a contented heart, and open hands that are ready to both give to those around you and receive the life of your dreams.
