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Dreams can be pretty powerful things, both the night time dramas and the day dreams of the day light hours. Looking back it seems that both seemed to evaporate at about the same time. At some point you wake up and find that your sails don't have a wind and that you're just sitting in the middle of an ocean without a compass or direction.
I can't remember when it all happened, but at some point as I matured my dreams had to be measured against the practical and the short term day to day struggles. It was the fact though that I awoke to find that I had no dreams left that I tried to sort out where they had went. Of course it has taken longer than I thought to get to a point where I could even think of what to do.
In a sea with no wind you must row
The problem as I see it is that we might be addicted to living vicariously. I mean so much of our resources go into entertaining ourselves and gaining enjoyment from the actions and activities of others how can we then devote ourselves to living our own adventure. Sometimes I wish that I had just hoisted my sails and set course for distant horizons and shores.
But the past is the past, and if you think about it dwelling on memories and lost opportunities is just another way of being caught in a vicarious trap. The fulfillment of dreams and the pursuit of goals comes when we set down the tv remote, get off the couch, and take steps out of the door of our homes. I will abandon my old dreams and pursue new ones.
On the ocean the horizon is always the same until the boat travels
Of course there is always some yearning dream that sees us through that may not have to be abandoned. My life long dream from the time of my youth has always been to hike the Appalacian Trail (More info on the Appalachian Trail). The Appalachian Trail has represented many things to me over the years. A journey of endurance and self discovery, a chance to do something great and fantastic, an escape, and an adventure.
When I was a young man I found myself wrapped up in debts from going to school at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. I wrote a letter to my adviser telling him that I was leaving school and I would be back after I hiked the Appalachian Trail. My journey has thus far lasted nearly twenty years and I have yet to do more than clear my debts out, get married, and have two really cool little boys. The Appalachian is a good 5-7 months long and a journey said to be of 5 million steps, and so I am as far I think to Springer Mountain in Georgia as ever. But I don't let that get me down.
As long as you have a dream, you have a wind in your sails. The trick then is to set goals on how your going to achieve your dream. A goal can be as simple as sorting out equipment and preparation, or grander such as securing your family financially. Does your family go with you?
The purpose of this blog though is not to talk to extensively about my trips to Dick's Sporting goods to look at gear or to convince you to hike the trail. Each of us has our own adventures and dreams. They don't necessarily have to be about hiking or travel. Our dreams might be to start a business, or write a book, or to learn a new skill. Regardless of your dream I am sure that it is one that will be fulfilling to you.
So there are things to be done. A journey of five million steps will never be accomplished if we substitute the adventures and accomplishments of someone else for our own. It's great that your team does well in a sports competition, but are you a player, or are you a fan? If watching a game on TV only results in you making a trip to the refrigerator you are living vicariously. Go out and smell the grass and dirt for yourself, throw the ball around with your kids and get dirty. I think that once you throw a couple of wobbly passes that you'll find your touch gets a little better and you'll have fun doing it.
Even in that small way the adventure is yours. Later on you can even appreciate the accomplishments of others better. You can admire the effort of others more by making an effort yourself. So go ahead, nil vicarious, and enjoy life more than ever before.
