One way or another, we all have to find what best fosters the flowering of our humanity in this contemporary life, and dedicate ourselves to that.Joseph Campbell
We all have something that lights us up inside.
Service to others. Creative expression. Travel. Exploration of nature. Science. Spirituality. And on and on.
None of these are mutually exclusive of each other, either. It is natural for our individual passions to overlap and synergize with eachother, in ways that feel vast and limitless.
But we don't always devote our lives to our passions, do we?
Well... what if we did?
The Journey vs. the Destination
I think we tend to see our dreams as islands of reality, existing in some indefinite future, once all the necessary circumstances meet in perfect alignment. With lots of somedays in between. We tend to see them as destinations that can only be reached through no small number of conditions and life changes.
What if we eliminated someday from our thought process and shifted our thinking and motivation to what can I do today?
Because here's the cold, hard truth: Someday doesn't exist – it's an intangible concept. Nothing in the history of the Universe has ever manifested someday. But today happens every day – today is real, and it's happening right now.
So in shifting our mindset from destination mentality to journey mentality, we realize that there is work that can be done today that is in alignment with our dreams. And when tomorrow becomes today, we can build on that work. Every day we can build and progress.
This is how dreams are made into reality – through the journey. Step by step. But you have to commit yourself to the work.
"I don't have time to make my dreams come true."
I hear this a lot. Especially from folks who have children, or work full time jobs.
It's not for me to say how you should balance family and/or work life with pursuing your dreams. All I can say about that is this: life is about choices. Some choices impact your life more than others. But at some point, you have to ask yourself:
Do I want to live my dream?
And if your answer to that is "yes", then you have to figure out where that starting point is, and begin. Your journey may be bear fruit slowly, or it may bear fruit swiftly, and you may or may not have a whole lot of control over that.
But you can start. And you can commit to staying on the path. You aren't powerless. You always have choices – always. So step into that.
Are Jobs Bad?
I'm addressing this because I've heard countless personal development folks talking about how having a job will destroy your dreams and your life, so you should quit today and start living your dream right away.
This just isn't realistic. Jobs aren't necessarily bad. Obviously, if a job is causing you undue stress and misery, it's probably a good idea to look for something better. But the reality is, bills and rent are due every month, and you need to eat. I don't buy into the nonsense that the Universe will magically provide for your every physical need the moment you decide to quit your job and pursue your dream.
However...
I do believe – wholeheartedly – that once you begin stepping into your fullness and your power, and begin doing the work, the Universe opens up the floodgates. It's almost uncanny the way possibilities and opportunities open up to you once you start that journey in earnest.But we come back to choices: Is finding a better job a possibility? If not, where can you begin doing the work to build your dream, so that you can eventually leave your job and support yourself doing what you love?
And if your job isn't too unpleasant, you have a great advantage. You can work toward your dream while supporting yourself doing a job that is bearable.
My Dream
Starting this blog at the beginning of 2011 was the first step in the journey of living my dream. Since then, my journey has unfolded in ways I never would've imagined, and the scope of my dream has grown quite a bit.
So what really lights me up inside? The idea of sharing my message not only here in my blog, but also in front of groups of folks. Creating fully immersive, live teaching and healing experiences – including guided group meditations, sacred sound work, and intimate satsang-style interaction. I want to feel the energy and presence of people as I share insights and teachings, and I want to soak up the wisdom of their reflections.
I want to experience the awesome energy of that kind of love exchange.
I want to travel all over the country and to different parts of the world doing this. I want to write books. I want to lead drum circles and healing, meditative retreats.
I want to do all of this for a living. I can't imagine living a more fulfilling life than this – just thinking about it lights me up to the core.
For now, I work at my full time job, supporting myself and creating the means to continue building my dream. I have committed to doing something every single day that is in alignment with my dream – whether it's working on a blog post, or developing an e-course or a workshop, or finding a place to host the ongoing healing meditation group that I will be leading very soon.
Sometimes it's just sitting in silence, or observing nature, or enjoying conversations with like-minded people.
Every day, I'm doing something that makes me come alive and I'm following my life purpose. I have thrown away someday along with all the excuses I once had, and I'm doing the work.
And I gotta say... it feels pretty awesome.
Now I ask you: What makes you come alive? Are you living your dream? Are you laying the foundation? Do you have a dream but don't know where to start? Are you not yet sure of your life purpose?
I'd love for you to talk about it in the comments, and let's share wisdom, advice and encouragement with each other.