Good morning! I hope your day is off to a nice start.
I’m writing to you today from a tropical beach, complete with palm trees, coconuts, a salty breeze, and wooden lounge chairs just beckoning me to come lie in the sun. That’s my view right now. Okay, if my mouse pad was a little larger. You know, like large enough to cover an entire window. Sometimes we have to take what we’ve got and add a little imagination.
I know what you’re thinking. Mouse pad? Do people still use those? Bet he hears screeching tones when he connects to the internet! Yes, I get it. I’m old. Well, old enough. But the fact is, the RV tabletop is too shiny for the mouse to work right, so my wife bought me an old-fashioned mouse pad from the ‘80s to go with my black knee socks and sandals. So there.
If you’ve been reading these messages any time at all, you know I’m a big proponent of using visual images to feed your dreams. And if you know that, you know how much I yearn for a sunny beach. Jimmy Buffett said it best. “Salt air, it ain’t thin … it’ll stick right to your skin, makes you feel fine.” Yes, it does. And I need me some. Next trip.
You probably already know this, but our mind thinks in pictures. Even in conversation, if somebody mentions another person’s name, you immediately see their face. If they mention work, you see your cubicle or toolbox. And if they mention Paris, you see the Eiffel Tower. Well, people don’t talk about the beach often enough, so I carry a picture of my own to keep it fresh.
Keep those pictures where you’ll see them all through the day, and the dream stays fresh as well. I kept a picture of a motorhome on my desk for almost five years. Now I’m looking through the window. Don’t worry, it’s mine. You can get in a lot of trouble looking through somebody else’s window. Don’t ask me how I know that.
But, as I’ve mentioned before, the motorhome isn’t really the dream – it’s the means to achieve the dream, which is to travel across this nation and wake up each morning to a different view. It’s to take the grandkids on vacations they’ll never forget, and to explore places we’ve never been. And it’s to figure out where we want to retire. Or should I say, on which beach?
See, that’s the fun thing about dreams. They don’t have to be realistic. I know how much it costs to live on the beach, and the bank says that’s not happening any time soon. Well, the bank doesn’t care, but the people selling beachfront property might. Still, it’s not like you can’t make a little more money. Or a lot. When there’s a will, there’s a way.
There are campgrounds in this country that cost as much per night as I typically spend for a week. And they’re full of people who probably didn’t bat an eye at the amount. It’s all a matter of perspective. If a hamburger is what you can afford, a steak is astronomical. And if a steak is what you can afford, there are still restaurants whose prices will make you choke.
But that doesn’t, or shouldn’t, stop you from dreaming. As long as money itself isn’t the dream. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a nicer house, a nicer car, a bigger boat, or even a better cut of meat. Granted, all of those things pale in comparison to what matters most in life, but nothing says you can’t live it up along the way. Just keep it in perspective.
Pictures feed dreams. Now, I don’t have a picture of steak and lobster on my wall, but if somebody suggests it I can conjure up an image really quick. What I do have are travel books and RV campground guides to feed those dreams. Besides, no matter where I go, I can get just about any kind of food I want. Getting there is the first priority.
Next time you see a picture of something you’d like to enjoy, cut it out and put it where you can see it every day. The more you look at it, the more real it begins to feel. And when it begins to feel real – even possible – you begin to find ways to make it happen. Ways you may never have imagined. Odds are, nobody else did, either. Which makes the road that much faster for you.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2020 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
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