23/11/2020
as we were driving up the mountain, 4 kids, 2 bunnies + a dog deep, we could hardly hear each other talk. “holy crap family vacations are hard,” I thought to myself.
And in nearly the same moment, I looked at Ryan. If someone would have told us we’d be driving to the mountains with a car filled to the brim with pets and babies after over a decade of marriage, I would have smiled so big. I would have thought to myself, “That’s it. That’s all I’ll ever need. That is everything.”
But here we are, the kids are arguing, Ryan & I are continually interrupted in our attempted conversations and ultimately it feels more like torture than a dream I couldn’t wait to manifest.
What we don’t realize is that we romanticize our dreams. We think of all the highs as if low moments couldn’t exist.
When we dream, we think of the peak moment on the best day. We rarely consider the tough moments and hard days that come with it. So sometimes, we don’t realize we’re living our dream because it’s disguised with real life.
I love reminding myself that I’m doing the things I always hoped for two reasons.
1. Catching the moment itself allows me to reflect on who I was when I first had the dream 💭 and where I am now. It evokes a sense of pride in myself and it’s important we have moments to be proud of who we’re becoming. It’s an easy way to practice mindfulness.
2. It’s a moment to remind myself that fulfillment isn’t found in outside circumstances. It’s dangerous to get in the habit of “I’ll be happy when I have...” because of how often those moments don’t show up how we imagine. You could spend your whole life waiting to be happy rather than soaking in the happiness of real life.
The fulfillment & satisfaction we crave will never be found anywhere outside of yourself. You don’t need experiences outside yourself, you need them within yourself.
