We hope we’re about to set off on the type of trip that we’ve always dreamed of, but this is not a dream.
To be where we are now has taken work. We’re working now.
We have our sights set on the other side of the world and our minds locked on the first steps we’ll take when we get there, but we’ve worked hard to be here. We won’t stop working. We can’t go until we’re ready. We can hear the road calling to us, but we know that right now, and right here, this is not a dream.
We’re lucky sure. Things are looking up. We’re looking forward with confidence and belief, but still…
This isn’t a dream because of the stress. Lindsay worries about not having enough time, and I worry about not having enough money. There’s much more than that going on.
This isn’t a dream because of the work. At the minute we’re packing away our home life so it’ll be ready should we need it again. After that, we’ll do whatever else needs to be done to be ready for when our chosen day comes. Day one…
This isn’t a dream because of the questions, and the doubt. What will we need? Do we have this? Where can we find that? Will it fit in our bags? What does this thing even do? Why are these so expensive?!?
Saving, planning, packing, shopping, it goes on and on. I don’t do much of any of them in my dreams, do you in yours? This isn’t a dream, because they all need doing, but…
I hope you’re not seeing this as complaining. This is the fun stuff, though it sometimes feel like work. This is a part of the adventure. Our minds are on the road already. We’re thinking about what is around that corner, what lies ahead? This is not a dream, but this is exciting.
Now this might be our journey, along the road we see before us, but it will be the same for you. You’ll do what you can until your chosen day comes. You’ll do what you think you should and worry whether you’ve done enough, too much, or simply, are you ready?
The truth is, we’ll never be ready. We can read and talk and plan and think. But from where we are now we can never know. The knowing only ever comes from the road. Every step we take prepares us more for the steps that lay ahead, but until we take the next step it will only be a dream. Being ready is a dream.
This is not a dream though.
As we toil away, trying to be truly ready for what we think is waiting for us out there, we live a reality that never seeps into the worlds we inhabit when we’re dreaming.
No, this is not a dream, but this is what dreams are made of…