My cat, Macy, and I enjoyed a nice cat nap last Sunday afternoon. It was 72ºF, sunny and very breezy, and we enjoyed the warmth of the sun shining on us through the window, the fresh breeze in our faces and sweet dreams.
Well, I’m not really sure about her dreams, but I had some very pleasant dreams. I dreamed that I was walking from a building where I was attending a seminar. I approached my car which was a beautiful little convertible, and I was very excited to put the top down and drive home in the perfect weather. But, I decided to go home first and pick up my wife since this would be our first time driving this car with the top down. I wanted us to experience it together.
I was feeling great. Life was bliss.
Then, I woke up.
I had no convertible, but I did have quite a list of things I wanted to get done before the end of the day.
Macy was still lying across my neck with her head on my shoulder. The sun was still shining on us, and she began to purr in my ear as I slowly turned to get out of bed.
For the rest of the afternoon, I spent time writing for this site, worked at preparing a home-cooked dinner and while my wife, April, worked on her homework, we tag teamed playing with, entertaining and being entertained by our toddler, Tristen.
Although I wasn’t driving down the boulevard with the sun shining down on me in a beautiful convertible, I enjoyed an afternoon of complete bliss in service.
When Dreams Don’t Come True
Life is full of things we have to do, and often the things that make up our dreams are sprinkled very lightly in between. Some dreams are never realized at all. It is fun to dream big dreams of wealth and limitless adventure, but most often, joy comes to us from unexpected things of which we had never dreamed:
- an unexpectedly delicious meal,
- the look on a toddlers face when he picks up a bag of chips from the wrong end and spills them all over the floor,
- a conversation that brings two souls closer together,
- a purring cat or snuggling dog,
- the smell of freshly fallen leaves,
- knowing that you are doing something that will give someone joy,
- taking responsibility for putting a smile on someone else’s face.
The list could go on forever. I hope you find many things to add. Please feel free to share them.
Don’t stop dreaming, but don’t let your dreams obscure your vision of true joy in every day life.