What does it feel like…
To rise from the bed and stretch
without someone lifting your body
or moving your arms for you…
To open the front door and go for a run
or bike ride with thoughts of no one else…
To hop in your car and go somewhere
by yourself for hours or even overnight…
What does it feel like?
It’s not wrong to daydream and ponder what it would be like to live with unlimited physical ability. It’s not wrong to imagine how life could be different if ___________ (fill in your own scenario) were not a part of my story.
I’ve never actively asked myself what I would want to do IF I didn’t have Arthrogryposis until the past few years. I see the good side of dreaming. In the naming of those simple dreams, I am admitting what is really in my heart. And in the naming, I am becoming whole and that leads to freedom. A freedom which just might help me to see how some of my dreams can come true.
Speaking my dreams out loud, big or small, produces clarity and pushes me towards community. We need the community around us. Family. Friends. Church. Neighbors. The people in my life remove some of my limitations by making various dreams a reality…
I get a taste of what it’s like to go for a run every time my friend pushes me in the jogger.
I tell my mom and caregivers how to style my hair and get excited on the days it looks like my fingers did it.
I watch others do activities I can’t technically do. But I am there. I’m present. Sometimes that is enough.
We share the everyday stuff with each other. We also need to share the dreams, the ones we carry around. We don’t always want to confess them because this is hard, scary, etc. But when we confess, we allow ourselves to be whole. We are saying, “These are my dreams. This is my heart.”
I may wrestle with the dreams that go unfulfilled. I can wonder if, when, how. How can I make something happen? Sometimes dreams do come to life. Sometimes they don’t.
How can we still move forward when our unmet dreams collide with our unrealistic expectations?
If you missed Simple Dreams, part one, go read it now. And come back next week as we learn to let go of expectations.