Defining your dreams

On a few occasions now, when mentioning to people that H and I are off on a nearly-2 month-adventure through South East Asia this week, they reply with a “Wow, you really are living the dream.” To which I smile, nod, and then frown?!

So firstly, am I really about head off on a 2 month adventure? Why yes I am. But following this dream meant rethinking other dreams…and that's what I want to share with you today.

Dreams are very real, deep longings that live in the well-hidden spaces within us, only showing face when it’s safe to come out. Dreams are beautiful things, that need to be protected, pursued {actively}, and also re-thought-through once in a while.

You see with dreams comes sacrifice. No dream that really holds value to you, will ever require you to stay within your comfort zone. No; dreams mean risk, adventure, joy. They mean action and sometimes they mean giving up lesser dreams, in order to pursue what really makes your heart sing.

It’s easy to throw out a “Wow, you’re really living the dream” {I have many a time}, but is that really your dream? 

My year in Korea, away from my comfort zone, gave me space to get real with ME!! And one truth I found {that I feel may apply to many people out there too} is that my dreams were as undefined as you get.

It's been easy, for years, to throw out the words, "My dream is..." but truth be told, this was just the easy way out. The vaguer my dreams were, the less pressure there was to pursue them and with that, less chance of failure. Vagueness allowed me to be safe, but it also meant years of working towards an undefined dream, basically a blurred vision.

Let me give you a peak into my world…

My life-long dream (one of the many) was to be a missionary in Mozambique, the country north-east of South Africa. I dreamt of living in the dirt, loving the poor, loving God, feeling fulfilled and alive and at peace. Well...this was my dream until I actively started pursuing it, and by pursuing I mean going out there, in the dirt, loving the poor and learning. It was easy to throw around the ‘dream’ word when I had no idea what I was talking about, but once out there, alone in a world I knew so little about, it took some deep soul-searching {and prayer} to get real with myself and others. Yes, I love working with the poor, yes my heart sings in the presence of black kids and yes yes yes I love the people of Mozambique, but never did I realize the sacrifice that would come with pursuing such a dream. I admittedly ate my fair share of humble pie as I reassessed my dream, all with ‘sacrifice’ {what pursuing this dream would take}, in mind. I’m not saying I gave up on this dream, I will always have a heart for and work with the poor, but by realistically reassessing this dream, I was able to free myself up by not setting myself up for failure of not achieving a dream. I was able to create a more realistic {still pretty far-fetched} but more thought-through life vision, dream J

It's OK to have 20 dreams, and for them to involve everything from family, to career, to the randomness of what makes your heart sing; but my challenge is for you to find a quiet space and to write them down. In writing them down, they suddenly become real...and yes, sometimes tears spring up as we realize how unrealistic some of these are {some in a good and some not so good way}. We get real with ourselves.

It's easy to head in a general direction of your dreams...but being 'general' and not 'specific' will mean that one day, down the line, we will never really get that, 'Oh my gracious, I am living MY dream" feeling. The feeling and definition of where you're at, or what you've achieved will instead be vague. Vague is OK, but it's not your best!!! 

You were created for more than just vague!!! 

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Join me in a month today {19th March} for a follow up post {and FREE printable} geared at helping you start your journey in making these dreams a reality!!