Living Dreams.

Growing up, I was encouraged to "live my dreams," and assumed this meant following in the footsteps of the bulletin board heroes of my elementary classroom days: leading protest rallies like Martin Luther King Jr., defending one's country to become president like George Washington, advocating for women's rights like Jane Addams, or being a prolific writer like Jane Austen. Dreams meant the loudest voice, the most spirited leader, and a list of page numbers with one's name in the glossary of Social Studies books. While I carried future hopes of becoming an author, traveler, or teacher; I rarely considered this a dream to be taken seriously by the big rigs. I didn't strive towards fame, I was never enthralled with celebrities, and I didn't particularly enjoy standing against authority. Naturally I was left wondering - what kind of dream am I meant to live out?

Explored a riverbank in east Oregon with friends last weekend -
I never knew so many shades of green existed!

And yet, as I carried groceries across the dock and felt the exchange of daytime air to night, I glanced out to the sun setting behind the pines, listened as the geese lapped along the river and the chimes welcome the moonlit breeze with their melodic song, and I thought: Dreams are not generically intended to fit a quota or reach a standard. They are tailored to the gifts of the individual, unique in their design and custom-made for the intended purpose for each human. Who can measure a dream? Only the one who dreams it reserves that right.

I love observing the outline of each needle etched against the night sky.

Here in Portland, I am soaking in every breath of pine-filled air, clinging to this dream I had no idea existed. A passion for an ancient pilgrimage route and the opportunity to partner with others in their daily "Camino," exploring the human experience through the art medium of film, plus the harmonious blend of my life commitments to journey, spirituality, community, and storytelling... it is here my dream is lived. Each happenstance of my past occurred in such a way as to weave these parts of me together and concurrently offer a job in which I can use my strengths. While it certainly gets monotonous with the onslaught of marketing techniques as I learn to maximize social media and target phone calls to strangers - it is in those moments the Big Picture gives purpose to the tedium. The day-to-day job related tasks are not necessarily fun or intellectually stimulating, they are not even entirely engaging... but when the Big Picture is in mind, a dream can be fully realized and set free to be lived.

Sonja was one of the first that encouraged me to "dream beyond the Kindergarten classroom"
Thankful for last weekend spent with one of my very best Chicago-Seattle friends [and Ted!]

"Often fear of what others may think or a hundred other motives determine our 'yes' or 'no' rather than obedience to divine urgings." 

// R.J. Foster // Celebration of Discipline // 94