Monday – To be Daring…

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So what are some of your deepest wishes? Have you always wanted to dance, to draw, to paint, to travel, to go to school or play an instrument? We all have “dreams”. Some of our deepest dreams that never seem to change and other dreams that are dropped as time moves on.

Years ago a principal from one of the local schools that my child was in gave me a ride home. It was unusual for me to need a ride and I have no memory about why he drove me. But I remember our conversation to this day.

At this point I was creating art quilts when I had spurts of time. Having three children with their sports and school, a husband who traveled a fair amount and and doing contract work here and there kept me rather busy. So I would obsessively complete a work and then not quilt for months until the next inspiration hit.

The principal and I had a conversation about creating art. He said longingly that he had always wanted to paint. It was his plan to paint after he retired and that his retirement was coming in the next few years. My response was “Why wait? Start now!”

A couple of years rolled past and his retirement was upon him. He and his wife had bought a house in another province and she went down early to start to get everything ready. He lingered here in Yellowknife, I assume because it was hard to leave. Yellowknife is a very special community.

The last while he and his wife lived in Yellowknife they lived next door in a basement apartment. So we talked. The day before his flight to leave Yellowknife he decided to go fishing by himself. He had done it so many times before. He loved all the lakes we have around here. He never made his flight. He drowned. It was very sad.

When I heard the news the next morning all I could think of is that he never got to take up one of his secret dreams. He never got to paint in retirement. He waited too long.

He dreamt but he couldn’t be DARING. He said he was too busy. Yes being a principal is busy. But he had summers. He could have gone for painting classes. He could have started…

Being DARING is hard. It requires us to take a leap. To be new at anything is very challenging. We have chatter in our mind that stops us, keeps us from exploring our dreams, keeps us “safe” from whatever the perceived threat is. But we are only 1/2 alive when we don’t DARE to follow our a few of our deepest dreams.

Following dreams requires work, energy, drive and down right determination. The hours it takes to learn a new skill and become proficient can be many. But the satisfaction of knowing your are following your heart can have a very very profound affect on your life. That satisfaction can create the motivation to continue to work hard towards your dream.

What would you do if you were feeling DARING?