Following Your Dreams
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau
This quote has become so overused (I have it on magnet) that it’s become a cliché. It’s still one of my favorites (hence, the magnet). I especially love it because the man who wrote it was not some overly perky seller of how-to-get-rich-quick schemes. He had a serious dark side and still, wrote this brilliantly simple, positive and true sentiment.
I was reminded of this quote today in the most unlikely (for me) of places. I attended a luncheon hosted by my friend and her family to celebrate her father’s ordination as a deacon in the Catholic church. This is the highest ranking position one can hold in the Catholic church without becoming a priest.
My friend’s father had every intention of becoming a priest when he was young. He was even attending the seminary when he met my friend’s mother. Meeting her changed his life. He chose to start a life with her instead of taking the vow of celibacy required of a priest. He married her, became an accountant, and they had three daughters. They remained active in the church. He now has six grandchildren, the oldest of whom is in high school.
Becoming a deacon is not an easy task. It’s basically like going through college all over again, along with becoming even more active in the church and attending countless retreats. It was not easy and was intensely time consuming. He struggled with his decision many times. In the end, fifty-five years after he thought he gave up his dream, he finally realized it.
I was moved to tears by my friend’s speech at the luncheon. Among other things, she talked about how proud she was of him for never giving up on his dream.
He is an amazing example to everyone whose lives he touches and also an example of why this quote is so not just a tired old cliché.
Thanks for stopping by!
So I guess there’s still hope for me, as soon as I figure out what I really want to do with my life.
I had no idea you were thinking you may want to do something else.
Thank goodness for words that move us to tears, and thank goodness for friends who share their stories with us … people like you that make everyday life extraordinary. Thank you for being.
I love hearing stories like this because it reminds me that just because your life takes a detour from what you always thought you wanted to do, you can always find the road back – no matter how old you are. I have an undergrad degree and an MBA but never really liked the business world (I’ve been home with my kids since my youngest was born – for 9 years now). What I always wanted to do was be a nurse but when I was in college I was just coming out of a household where I wasn’t encouraged to follow my dreams or made to feel like I could do anything I set my mind to. I thought I wasn’t smart enough to get through nursing school so I caved and majored in business. Now that I’m 39 and see the things I have managed to accomplish in the world, I realize that, even then, I was smart enough to have gotten through the schooling and the training. Now I just have to ride the winding road back to that original passion and finally do it. I will probably be the oldest person in those nursing classes but, as you’ve said, it’s never too late to chase those dreams.
That’s ok, I’m one of the oldest psych students in my classes.
There are a lot more of us back in school than you would think.
That’s such a great story!
The title is so dear to my heart
You know what, my name-Swapna- means “dream” too. So here is to those who dream and chase it with so much goodness in their soul!
Special cheers to you for that sweet tete-a-tete!
Must say, it made my day.
i just talked to a friend of mine yesterday that i hadn’t seen in a couple of years. she is 35 and just starting nursing school. she has been raising three kids and has decided that she wants to follow her dreams now that all the kids are in school and settled a bit. i think it is awesome. it really never is too late. i even met a 60 year old that was working on her ph.d. never too late!
what a lovely story — so inspirational! thank you for sharing this. there is a famous George Eliot quote too that i love:
“it is never too late to be what you might have been”.
sometimes it is too late — but i still like the quote and the ideal behind it.
I love that quote too! I actually considered it for this post.
What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing.