Delay No Longer

I always wanted to be a surfer. I was obsessed with surfing when I was younger, but I was 17 the last time I tried it. For 15 years I daydreamed about surfing again – rubbing my hand along the rails of boards in surf shops, sitting on surfing only beaches longing to be out in the line-up. Finally, at age 32, I had enough of the daydreaming and went surfing again.

I always wanted to be a real swimmer. I love to swim but didn’t feel comfortable getting into a pool and swimming laps due to my lack of proper form. Over the years, I checked out pools to join and never did. I’d gaze at the crystal clear water, longing to feel fluid as I skirted along the bottom. Finally, after the 2012 Summer Olympics, I had enough of the longing and signed up for private adult swim lessons at my gym to give me the boost of confidence I needed.

I always wanted to go kayaking. I had no kayak and no one to go with, so I sought both out. My very first kayaking trip many years ago was with a total stranger through the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and I loved it.

I always wanted to be a professional writer, so I joined a writing group and surrounded myself with writers, taking advantage of the wealth of knowledge provided. Not only have I met amazing people, but I have become a better writer, and had the pleasure of co-editing “Reading Glasses“, a collection of short stories, one of them my own. I am closer to my dream than ever before.

I always wanted to make sugar cookies, a seemingly small dream, I know, but still a dream. Every year I would research recipes, print them out and never make them. I think I was intimidated, but every year there was that nagging urge to make sugar cookies. Finally, I made them this past December. And they were wonderful.

What have you always wanted to do? Think about it for a moment.

I try to catch myself whenever I exclaim “I always wanted to do that!” and assess if it’s something I can go ahead and do.

I read an article recently where the author suggested bucket lists add pressure to our lives and increased sadness and regret. I disagree. I think it is important to be mindful of things we long to do or see, or places we long to go because when suffering the daily grind, it is easy to forget our dreams. A life without dreams is a life without goals, and that life seems very sad to me, indeed.

Many dreams, like making sugar cookies, only require a few dollars, a dedicated few hours of time, and some optimism. Is it possible that you, too have been delaying a very achievable dream from coming true?

As for the surfing, kayaking, and South Jersey Writers’ Group (SJWG), I had the help of Meetup. If you’re not familiar, Meetup is a website consisting of “meetups” for almost anything you can imagine all created by people like you and me who wanted to do something and wanted a group to do it with. When I went surfing last summer, I met up with two very nice strangers, one of whom had arranged rentals and a lesson. All I had to do was show up. The same with the kayaking. The organizer lent me the use of a spare kayak and instructed me. Meetup is also where I found the SJWG and I cannot imagine my life without this amazing network of people.

If not having someone to do something with has been holding you back, then you no longer have an excuse. If by some chance there isn’t a meetup for what you want to do, then start one. I am certain there is someone out there who wants to do what you do. If money has been holding you back, then save.

Last summer, going surfing, I was literally living one of my dreams. Writing this blog and having so many wonderful readers, I am living one of my dreams. Next weekend I will make sugar cookies again and I will be living one of my dreams. Every time I drop into the pool, peel my swim cap over my head, adjust my goggles and push off the wall, I am living a dream.

What dream will you decide to realize today?

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