Puff???

There goes the dream? Puff??? Have you had that happen to you that you dreamt of a life and then you lived it and it turned out nothing like you imagined? Imagination is not grounded in experience and therefore living a dream is way different than imagined. No dream is based on reality otherwise dreams would be called reality!

So, what is this impulse which makes us want to live dreams reality can never hope to deliver?

Dreams are by definition perfect, daring, adventurous and always fun. We envision ourselves like a hero figure enduring all kinds of adventures without getting tired, hungry, cranky or disappointed. In our dreams all is all good all the time. Unfortunately we are only human and might not be able to live up to the dreams we dreamt about. Sometimes, we come ill prepared and the reality is way harder than expected. Or simply life happens and we run out of money, get sick, miss family. Do we then have to give up the dream?

With our dream about sailing around the world it is no different. We bought the boat, outfitted it and sailed off into the adventure. We didn’t know if we could do it, we jumped into the unknown. This leap of faith was admirable and also blind. How would we cope with the realities of this adventure? Would we like it or sometimes imagine ourselves back home or at a desk? For us the reality of living our dream is overwhelming for sure and sometimes so much so, that giving up seems to be a solution. So puff goes the dream?

We decided to adjust the dream to what is doable within our capabilities, our budget and other realities of life, like to want to spend time with our aging parents and visit family often, and to develop a couple of hobbies we picked up while cruising. We will slow down and make ‘dream slices’, if you will, more attainable for us and more livable. It is still the same dream just a little more real!