April 26, 2011

Bringing Dreams to Life

Looking back


Yesterday I spent all day in the sun planting rows and rows of onions, chard and beets. Today I am making homemade mozzarella and sewing aprons. I'll spend a few more days at the farm this week and also a few nights waiting tables. Ray and I are both working a lot these days and I find it hard not to dream about someday when we won't have to work as much, when we'll have more money saved, when we can have more adventures. I think about making a living from Seedling Design, I secretly hope to write a book someday, I dream about when we are settled in somewhere with land of our own and most evenings we'll eat dinner together.

I think it is important to dream, but sometimes you have to open your eyes to everything you have right now. When we become too focused on bringing our dreams to life, we miss the life we have created that already contains so much of our dreams.

Some days, I am trying so hard get to where I want to be, running as fast as I can but getting nowhere. Then I remember that all we have is right here, right now. And when I open my eyes to the things in front of me, I can see that I really am living my dream. Maybe I don't have land of my own where I can plant a garden, but I get to be outside working hard on a farm a few days a week. I have to spend a few evenings a week waiting tables, but I still get to enjoy making food from scratch as often as I can. I'm not making a living from Seedling Design, but I spend time every week making new things and learning about what it takes to build a business by hand.

I know there is a difference between the myriad day dreams that pop up while we are working at something else and the big dreams that we are bound to try our hardest to achieve. It is incredibly important to work toward what you hope for. I don't want to forget my dreams but I don't want to loose sight of what is right in front of me. I'm keeping my eyes open, even while I dream.

2 comments:

  1. Nicely put. So often we live in the future rather than in the present, and while it's fun to dream, it can also produce way more anxiety than one needs! And it blinds us to the various stages of getting to the next perceived place. I know I do this all the time :)

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  2. Thanks for your comment, Jen, I am glad to know I'm not the only one!

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