Possibilities

Day 23...

We can't talk about limitations and not mention possibilities. They are limitless.

We start life as a blank slate. We can become anything we set our minds to be. We are all given the same opportunities, the same chances. We are created equal. The prejudices, barriers, and limitations: we set those ourselves. Or at the very least allow others to set them for us. Which is a bad idea. Don't even let anyone choose your dreams.

When I was a kid, I had dreams. Lots of them got squashed by a craptastic childhood, but I never stopped dreaming. I just started picking other dreams. I grew up wanting to be a lawyer. I like research, digging into things to find all the details. I figured I'd be good at it. I had spent my life around people who did a LOT of arguing and was still standing, so I could be a professional arguer. That didn't happen, but I did manage to find jobs that interested my need to investigate things, to research the tiny parts of the job. That keeps it interesting.

As I got older, I changed more dreams. I wanted to be a totally free spirit, travel the world. I'd stop and work somewhere for a few months, to earn more travel money. Then off I'd be again. Seeing things, meeting people, living the free life. That didn't exactly happen either, with starting a family and settling down being a more important thing. I did manage to see a lot of the US and a few other spots because of my work, and I still plan to do more traveling in the future. Just not by hitchhiking.

Now I have new dreams. Simpler ones, I think. I dream of things I want to do around the house. Finishing the decks. Then screening in the back one that overlooks the woods down to the creek. Having friends and family over for food. That's something I did a lot a long time ago, and I now realize how much I miss that.

I still dream of traveling. I have race friends I want to see again, in PA, TN, OK and MS. I want to visit them and drink a toast to Dave and Mark. I want to visit new tracks and meet new people like my brother Russ in KS (remind me to tell you how I have a brother in KS that I've never met.) I've made a ton of new friends thanks to Facebook. Political allies need to meet and have a drink so we can discuss solving the problems of the world face to face. The shrewsisters, yes we will all meet in person before this life is over. Those will be EPIC.

I won't say I don't dream of love. I've had love. I still do. I've found my perspective on love has changed. I thought I used to know what a soul mate was, but I didn't. I think I do now, and I'm hoping I choose more wisely next time.

Yes, you do get to choose your soul mate. You thought you just magically came together in a flash of light? Nah. You have to work for that, too. Nothings easy in this life, or the next. That whole line about "kissing a lot of frogs before you find your prince" isn't that untrue. Magic happens, but it's sometimes fleeting. Nothing lasts forever, right? Maybe. I'm not real sure about all that still. I just know you never ever stop looking for love. You find it wherever you can. Just don't mistake something else for love. Companionship, security, lust... all those seem like love at certain times, but that's just a test for you.

Oops, almost forgot another one. I want to learn the guitar. Again. I halfway took it up as a teen, then got away from it. I think it'll help my songwriting.

All these things I've talked about, they're just the possibilities I've thought about. There are lots more out there: the world is wide open for each of us. We just have to find the courage to take control of what we were given at birth and make it happen for us. No fear. No limitations. ALL IN.

Lesson Twenty Three: Are there dreams you gave up on? Why? Do you still think about them, and couldn't you still pick them now? What's stopping you? Think about your life and the dreams you have for it. And go make them happen.

707 to go...