Living the dream and not realizing it?

I vividly remember the day that I got the keys to my first apartment.  

It was a studio, probably 400-square feet and I LOVED IT. I had my OWN place. My own kitchen, my own bathroom, and my own front door where I could hang a wreath at Christmas time. 

It felt like I was living the dream. Until, I thought that having a one-bedroom would be nice. 

A year or so later, a one bedroom in my apartment building opened up and I snatched that opportunity, moved down the hall and I LOVED IT. I had a proper living room, larger kitchen and a hallway to my bedroom! 

It felt like I was really living the dream. Until, my friends started buying houses and I thought it would be nice to own my own place. 

Several years later my husband (actually, he was my fiancé at the time) and I bought our first house together. 

That house -- our very first home purchase -- was a brand new home. It was a townhouse with super eco-friendly everything, a staircase to the second floor (hello two stories!), three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and . . . (wait for it) a GARAGE. Not only was there storage, but we could park our car inside too. 

I couldn’t believe that we had a newly built house. And, it felt huge and luxurious compared to the apartment. That felt like a dream house. A few years later, we had a baby and wanted to be in a different area and to have a slightly bigger house with a separate office. 

We’re living in that bigger house now. 

And, sometimes, I think about the next house. 

Sometimes, I forget that I’m actually living in one of my dream houses right now. 

I lived in my dream studio, my dream one-bedroom, my dream first house. But, much of the time that I was living in those homes I didn’t realize that I was living my dream. 

Recently, I caught myself being blinded to living my dream once again, but this time it was with time and my schedule. 

I noticed that I was feeling super crunched on time. Mind you, I create my own damn schedule. And, once upon a time, the idea of a flexible schedule was an unimaginable dream for me. 

So then, I compared my current schedule with my “dream schedule” and I was shocked. They were almost identical. Here I was… LIVING MY DREAM schedule, in a home that was once a dream too, and I was blinded to what I was already living. 

That doesn’t mean I don’t want to tweak things, dream bigger, or create more. No! I LOVE dreaming and improving. But, while I’m dreaming for the future I’m also paying more attention to the dreams I’m living right now. 

So, let me ask you, what did you once only dream about and are now living?

Look around at your everyday life from your home and family to your smartphone (isn’t that little device awe-mazing?!). Something was once a dream and it’s possible you’re blinded to it. 

When you focus on these things and tell yourself that you’re living a dream, how do they look and/or feel differently to you? 

Once I started focusing on my schedule as “my dream” I noticed a huge shift in my energy around time. Rather than feeling squeezed for time to do everything that I wanted to do, I felt deep appreciation for everything that I GET to do. I feel such awe for my beautiful home, too. 

Can you look at one of your dreams that you’re now living and see it with awe and appreciation? 

As we head into Thanksgiving this week it’s always a wonderful reminder to think about what we’re grateful for, and it’s also a wonderful time for reflection, wonder, appreciation, and to be in awe of what we’re living right now that was once only a dream. 

Emailing you messages like this one was once a dream for me. I feel such awe for this work and such appreciation for this connection with you. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you. Here’s to living our dreams.