It isn’t that easy

You did something new. Something that captured your heart and made you act. You may have known it was big from the start. Maybe you didn’t know. After going for it, you met with much difficulty. It was much harder than you thought. It took more time than you expected. It was more expensive than you could currently afford. You discovered a lot of resistance when you tried to go there.

It isn’t that easy.

You may have heard these words. Whether or not they come from someone who has accomplished what you are trying to do, doesn’t matter. It’s a condescending statement. An easy one to make for someone who isn’t willing to take the road you are walking. It’s a defense against doing something so directly, so abruptly, so truly.

That’s threatening. I know, because I’ve used those words. As much as I’ve met with resistance to trying to follow my dreams, I have also tried to protect myself when confronted with someone who was following theirs. It’s scary to see someone doing something bigger, better, greater, more amazing than what I’m doing. Especially if it’s something I’ve always wanted to do and haven’t had the courage to.

We are all dreamers. And I think naturally we are go-getters. But we get resisted, pushed down, discouraged, on a daily basis. From childhood we’re told what is realistic and what is impossible. The important thing is that as dreamers we set out for that which we yearn. That we have faith and go for it. And tell ourselves what is possible.

Then, who will care how clumsily we did it, how long it took, how much it cost? It’s not a matter of doing it the best, quickest, and least expensive way. For the naive dreamer, it’s about exploring oneself and finding out how to reach what’s inside. It’s about simply doing something about the dream we hold. Not to prove anything, but to discover.

Just as important is that as dreamers, we allow each other to dream and follow dreams. We’ve got to be careful with our words. Words have power and power moves people and it stops people.

You’re doing great.

The dream I’m following now is to travel the world. Fortunately my wife and I share this one. It’s a big dream, but maybe broken down into small fragments, day by day, hour by hour, it will be doable. Many have gone a similar route, but each of us has to find our own way. We have strengths, weaknesses, discoveries, and problems that will be unique. To me, this is what makes travel meaningful.

It’s not a package deal that you follow from A to Z. Travel means something different for everyone that endeavors to do it. Living well is my great motivator. I love the challenge of keeping up my nutrition on the road. I go to great lengths to find grass fed butter in unfamiliar locales. Let’s see how this goes in Southeast Asia.

Meeting new people while butter hunting around the globe is amazing, but not easy. We no longer hold regular jobs. We don’t know what we’re going to do about health insurance in the long run. We don’t have a house to call our own. We live with these fears.

I’m reading Vagabonding by Rolf Potts again. He gives a quote by Tim Cahill: “Thus, when we allow ourselves to imagine as we once did, we know, with a sudden jarring clarity, that if we don’t go right now, we’re never going to do it. And we’ll be haunted by our unrealized dreams and know that we have sinned against ourselves gravely.”

The greatest parts of life for me have involved doing big things, facing fear, and learning more of who I am. It starts with a dream. It’s never “that easy”. But it doesn’t matter.

Live powerfully,

Steve