Taking the first step

[Image credit: arztsamui]

It’s always too early to quit.
~ Norman Vincent Peale

New Year’s Day came and went and I could easily use a do-over.  It’s called “too much of a good thing.”  But, thankfully, every day is a new beginning in itself.  So the next day I began with my goal of writing that book I’ve been dreaming about for longer than I can remember.  I wasn’t necessarily ready to get up earlier to write.  And I didn’t log in as many words as I had planned.  But I started.  I took the first step.  And then the next day I took my second step.  And so on.  That’s all I can ask of myself because life will inevitably happen.  I’ll have to work late, my daughter will stop by unexpectedly to visit and I’ll need to make an unscheduled stop at the store or doctor.  I need to be able to accept these detours and move on.  Or I’ll never reach my destination.

What is your feel-like-quitting remedy?

Sandcastles in the sky

[Image credit: ponsuwan]

The other night I was talking to a friend about my quest for Someday — the indefinable future when everything I’ve ever hoped for (and even those things I never knew I wanted) is ripe and mine for the plucking.  Instead of Someday, she said, why not “one” day?  One day, I will have arrived.  One day, I’ll be living my sandcastles-in-the-sky.  One day my dreams will come true.  Admittedly, it has a catchy ring to it, while at the same time granting me permission to appreciate Today.  For some reason, it almost seems more definitive.  Like a promise.  But Someday, to me, is beyond a time; it’s a place.  A place I plan to reside; a locale where I’ll sit back, kick the sand off my feet and shade my eyes from the sun.  Where life is lived in the slow lane.  And as I wait for Someday, my Todays become a means to a new beginning.  One day.

Will your dreams come true one day, or Someday?

Want … or need?

[Image credit: David Castillo Dominici]

Never give up on something you really want.  
It’s difficult to wait, but more difficult to regret. ~ Author Unknown

There are things I need in life, but only a few things I really want.  However, sometimes I think about throwing in the proverbial towel when timing isn’t on my side.  I wonder if others possess self-imposed deadlines and, if they’re not living the dream by such-and-such date, if that dream becomes null and void.  I’m not a quitter; however, when something appears impossible, I have a hard time seeing past the roadblocks.  And waiting is hard.  Mostly, though, I don’t want to regret: seeing something through to the end (or maybe a new beginning), not giving it my all, negating the time it takes to transition seasons.  No doubt it would be easier if we could pick a date to write Someday in our planners.  But without that option, we must decide if we really need what we want.

Do you really need what you want?