something to do before breakfast

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? – Mary Oliver

Isla Coronados, Sea of Cortez

You can’t remember exactly when the seed was planted. Dreams, more often than not, begin with one small thought. Initially, you may not be able to put your finger on it. It could be an unnamed yearning or a single word that cultivated an idea. This may have been inspired further by a conversation, a story, or a person. At some point in a dream’s evolution, you begin clarifying what it is you are wishing for. Once you’ve admitted it to yourself, in due course, you dare to tell someone about it. Afterward, you tell another person. If you are determined, your dream begins to take shape and you can’t recall when it was not woven into the fabric of your life. You begin to plan, hopefully ignoring the naysayers, and you move closer to your goal – with trepidation, excitement, and wonder. Sometimes, in the process of reaching for your dream, you fall flat on your face. Things don’t develop as you’d expected. Everything takes much longer than you thought it would. As the saying goes, life throws you a few curve balls. This could mean you need to reassess some aspects of your vision. The key is whether you get up again, and choose to forge ahead or not.

One day, you untie the lines and sail away. You realize with incredulity, that your dream has become a reality.

The reality of a dream is sometimes a lot like what you’d imagined; at other times, it’s not at all what you expected. That’s the beauty of it. The question then is, are you happy? Do you feel fulfilled? Do you believe that the work involved in keeping your dream a reality is worth it?

Nyon in one of favourite anchorages
Honeymoon Bay, Isla Danzante

For us, the answers are yes, yes, and yes. There was a time when the idea to go voyaging seemed incredibly farfetched. We would grin at each other with disbelief on our faces. The people in our lives thought our plans were cool, crazy, irresponsible, or fun. We then met others, who had already realized a similar dream, or yearned to follow a comparable path. This gave us strength. Our families got used to the idea, and helped us in innumerable ways. As did our friends, who also made plans to come visit us in foreign ports.

I wonder what other dreams we will bring to fruition in our lifetime – a life with hope and dreams is a rich life. Even richer, should those dreams be realized. Whatever happens to us in the future, this is one dream that has come true, that continues to be true. Not by sheer luck, but through blood, sweat and tears. 

If you were to ask me, I would say absolutetly. Absolutely, it has been worth it. And I would do it all over again, in a second.

“There’s no use trying,” said Alice: “One can’t believe impossible things.”

“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen.  “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day.     Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Caroll