I was out-and-about this afternoon and decided to sacrifice a few minutes to browse the book store (thank God my daughters haven’t yet learned the fine-art of groaning!). You know how they always have these impulse-buy items at the checkout? Welllll…I spotted something which I couldn’t resist. It was a magnet.
I’m not a magnet collector, but I took one look at the saying on this magnet and just HAD to buy it. Despite it’s $6.99 price tag (MUCH more than I’d usually ever pay for a magnet), the quote on it drew my attention.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.
-Thoreau
Thoreau is the father of Civil Disobedience. He believed that we need to oppose those in power whom we believe are wronging us. How many of us have lived our lives according to societal norms instead of taking reign of our destinies as we feel they should be lived? How many of you languish in a stressed-out marriage ‘just-because-of-the-kids,’ or keep the same boring and rewardless-job ‘cuz you need the money?’
This was a big turning point in my life last spring. I was living according to how the people closest to me expected me to, not how I felt I needed to. When I finally broke free, I did so at a traumatic time in my life, but as I now look back, I wouldn’t dream of changing the decisions that I made.
As the first part of the quote states, ‘Go confidently!’ Don’t hesitate or look back, because that’s how you will stumble. Look ahead and think positively that what you did to change your life was the right thing. Sometime we’re presented with more than one path, and it’s up to evaluate the path we chose, but if we dwell on the ‘what ifs’ instead of the ‘what can be,’ we eventually end up spinning around in a catch-22.
So go ahead and evaluate your life. Is it the life you’ve dreamed of having? Or are you on that path out of sheer obligation? How can you break free of the proverbial shackles?
