I read that quote about a year ago. It was in a newsletter from the Spokane Guild School and came from the WA state chairman to the state disability commission. It struck a chord with me then and from time to time during this past year it has come to my mind. I think it has meant different things to me depending on what my life was like at that time; during the spring and summer I thought of that quote as I was making my goals for the races I wanted to compete in. Today it means something a little different as I think about my children and their dreams.
Dreaming is easy, but it takes courage to turn those dreams into goals. Goals require hard work, and often times, moving outside of the comfortable spot we all seem to want to settle into. Courage is required to continue moving forward even when obstacles appear or the work to achieve seems too hard.
Courage is also needed to be flexible when events beyond your control impede your ability to meet the goals in the way that was originally dreamed. Courage and flexibility are necessary so that the dreams/goals do not define your whole existence. Because when dreams/goals define you, then it is very hard to give up the original dream and move forward on an altered course. Flexibility combined with courage is needed so the new path, maybe even with new dreams, does not feel like a failure.
I love my children dearly. I am so proud of the work that they have both put in recently on their dreams. They set goals and worked towards those goals. Each had their dreams interrupted by events beyond their control. One child has been able to redefine the goal and path. For the other one, the interruption is still too new, too raw to recognize that maybe the dream needs to be redefined.
1 comment:
There has always been for me a little disappointment when my goals need to be changed, even when that change seems to be better. It's just so hard to give up on the original idea. I hope all goes well for them.
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