Debra Lavison said “One of the great joys of travelling through Italy, is discovering that it is, indeed a dream destination.”
She’s right you know. We see images as we scroll through our news feeds, but none of it seems real does it. We’ve been there, and we even sometimes forget that we’re taken these photos, we know it exists, but as we sit at our desk going through the day to day motions of work, family, life on the other side of the planet, we forget.
We forget that this dream land which creates the most amazing settings for photographers, artists and poets alike, is really only a plane ride away.
Living a dream is just a plane ride away. Yet, we scroll past those images with a sentimental smile, or a longing daydream thinking that it could never happen.
It absolutely can. It’s actually quite easy, it just takes a few things to occur on your part first.
- Commitment – You need to commit to seeing your dream in person. For me, this comes in the form of buying a ticket first and thinking about it later, because as you are probably well aware, thinking about anything for too long allows your mind to make excuses, logic to take control and your dream gets squashed. Again. And again. And again. Make a commitment. Just do it, pay a deposit and everything will fall into place. Just watch.
- Stop with the “Can’t” – Can’t is just another word for won’t or “I’m scared”. It can be scary getting on a plane and travelling to a far off land in search of a dream. But isn’t the thought of never seeing your dream in person even more scary?
- Take a big deep breath and come back to the centre of your universe – That is not your kids, your wife or husband, your work, your business or family. The centre of your universe my friend, is you. What does your heart want? Does it really want to wonder your entire life through, or does it really want to live that dream. Does your heart really want to see Italy or is it happy to eat at the little Italian restaurant down the street? Does your heart really want to eat in Italy, see the light in Italy, smell the lemons, the wine, the garlic, walk the ancient cobblestone streets and feel the amazing amount of history that has existed in Italy – or is it just happy to sit on the couch and watch the History Channel. Stop disappointing your heart, and yourself.
Once you have achieved these steps, your dream is coming true, and you are the only one who can make it happen.
Yes, it can be scary, it can be risky, but aren’t those feeling better than those of regret.
We’re not here to convince you that you should see Italy, after all, if you’re reading this, then you’re already thinking about it, we’re just trying to convince you to turn those thoughts into actions.
Methinks I will not die quite happy without having seen something of that Rome – Sir Walter Scott