What’s Your Dream?
Ever since I was a kid, I have dreamed of travel. I wanted to go to Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, South America. I read travel guidebooks and magazines nonstop.
Somewhere in the poverty and emotional struggle of my teen years and early adulthood the dream got buried under the clutter, the emotional eating, and my resulting obesity.
But after I turned my life around, the dream of travel was suddenly within reach. We moved abroad several years ago and the novelty of living in new places means that day-to-day life is interesting and stimulating. Just before Christmas we took our kids to the Sahara Desert for a few days. Yes, I rode a camel 8 miles into the desert and back out again! And last week we made an unforgettable trip to Florence, Italy backpacker-style with our three teens.
This all would have been impossible seven or eight years ago. It’s hard to pack for a trip when your home is chaotic and it’s hard to leave a house when you would be embarrassed to have anyone come look after it while you’re gone. When I weighed over 350 pounds, it was even physically difficult to travel — airplane seats didn’t fit and I worried about going anywhere that might have chairs with arms. Walking long distances was painful.
I’m writing this to encourage you to ask yourself what you would do if your clutter and your weight no longer held you back. What are the things that you are truly passionate about? What experiences are out there waiting for you? What would you do and whose lives could you touch if you could find a way to release the clutter and find your way back to a healthy size? What does the life you are supposed to be living look like?
What’s your dream?
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/decadence/
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Wow, that picture is so wonderful. I have always wanted to travel to Italy and the UK, but will never be able to afford it. It’s a fantasy that’s a financial impossibility.
I am actually (finally!) starting to see real progress in decluttering my place. If you try to attack it in its entirety, you just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers over your head, but those small day-by day accomplishments do add up. One project at a time keeps you focused.
On my days off, I try to find one project to accomplish. One day, it was the coat closet under the stairs; another day, it was the linen closet upstairs. Today, I attacked the top dresser drawer and all the tangled knee-highs, pantyhose, socks and scarves. Last week, I blew some Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons on drawer dividers, and while they still weren’t cheap, they sure do make keeping the drawers neat a lot easier, so they were worth the expense.
The table in the dining area is staying clear these days, so now I’m concentrating on keeping the couch clear for me and the kittycat ;•)
I’m still hauling to the consignment store, Goodwill, the Habitat Restore and the Hospice flea market and am starting to sense that the place is opening up. When this place is finally dejunked for good, I want to get all the needed work done so that it will be a serene home when retirement time rolls around.