The risk of spending your life, not doing what you want, on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later
– Allan watts
How many times have we done it? Been wrapped up in an idea, caught in a moment, filled with a wish to do something that would bring us joy and then then we said “no.. I’ll do that later/tomorrow/next year/when I retire etc etc” .. you get the drift. And then that idea stagnates and loses its shine and its allure and becomes another broken dream. Sometimes there’s a need to be practical and to recognise that while going travelling for a year may sound great, having a home with the bills paid and a secure job may be more what is needed just at that particular point in time. Sometimes we feel obligations to others too, both real and imagined.
Sometimes our own self-doubt stands in the way. I for sure have dreams that I’ve postponed because I’ve felt like I wasn’t ready and with hindsight could have known that I would never be ready and should have dived right in. (I’m still working on those ones).
But.. what I wanted to say is that life is too precious and it’s important to stay true to ourselves. Sometimes there needs to be some compromise or some juggling or responsibilities but if you do things with your heart, the rest somehow starts to follow. Sometimes it may be a case of allowing yourself to loosen up and to feel what you want, what makes you smile, what gives you the buzz and then holding that feeling and using that momentum to take a small step in the direction that you want. Why not show kindness to yourself and let yourself be pulled by your heart now? What is the future is not as long or as comfortable as we think?
It can be a challenge and scary too to break out and do something different but how would it be if you never tried? Regret is a tough one to deal with.