Why do we tend to keep our dreams, our ambitions, our ultimate drives and desires to ourselves? Why do we harbor secret passions and then wonder why our childhood aspirations never come true? Why don't we dream out loud? Out in the open, screaming from the rooftops what we're so excited and so passionate about and want so deeply... even if it is outlandish or improbable?
I have been obsessed with OneRepublic's song "Come Home" for a few years now.... and although there are a few lines that are currently a bit more pertinent, I always, always come back to this one: "...but maybe I'm just dreaming out loud..."
Dreaming out loud is along the same chord as "fearless" to me... it's terrifying. It's bold. It's sometimes insane. And it is a surefire way to lay yourself and your heart on the line and a great way to get your dreams dashed and your heart broken.
But to live fully... to really feel alive, I think you have to do it... at least at some point.
We hold our dreams close to our hearts for so many different reasons...most of them are out of fear...... fear of embarrassment, of what people would think, fear of it never ever happening for us, fear of realizing how out of control we are of some things, fear of realizing how much of our own lives we do control, fear of failure, fear of success, fear of all the crazy changes that success or failure would bring, fear of believing and trusting ourselves enough to take that chance.....
So we keep our dreams in our heads, sometimes in our words, sometimes in our sleep... and we go on, but we rarely get anywhere spectacular.
The thing is, even if you take that leap and you fall so far and so fast and smack your head on the ground, eventually, after the little birdies go away and the concussion stops making you wish you were dead, hopefully, you'll be able to revel in the fact that you made it to the top of that mountain or tree or wherever... and you saw that view, felt the difference in the air and looked down knowing that you made it up there.... so even if you do fall, you can appreciate the fact that, for that moment, you had the best view in the entire world and the only one you wanted to see...
Okay, so maybe that's a stretch. Long story short.... even if it blows up in your face, appreciate the journey, know that you were brave enough to work hard to even take that chance... most people are too afriad of life to live it....
So I'm still working on this, but here's the thing.... I know I say some crazy stuff... and I definitely I want some crazy stuff; things that will never happen because the world isn't all puppies and rainbows and some things that just seem wildly out of reach for me..... and yeah, maybe I'm just talking.... maybe I'm just dreaming out loud.......... but at least I'm dreaming.
And I know that dreaming out loud is, for me, the only way I can start to live the way I want to... fearlessly.
That's the point. I still stand by it: if at the end of the day and 60+ years down the road, I can look at my wrist and nod and smile to myself and know that I lived fearlessly and loved fearlessly... I'll be good. I'll be in a place on my way to where I want to be or taking comfort in the fact that I got to take that journey and have landed wherever I happen to be in that moment.
Keys:
Ατρόμητη
Dream out loud.
Love Like Crazy
Roll With It
