The spirit of dreaming – a short tale on our journey together

The spirit of dreaming, a short tale:

We are down to our last drop of water and the desert floor is a furnace beneath our feet. We’ve been traveling together for weeks, encouraging each other, lifting each other, fighting the growing desire to quit and succumb to nature. Together, we keep heading towards the distant mountains. The mountains we are all desperate to reach.

It seems like a single group purpose, reach the mountains. Reach the mountains we tell ourselves and all will be okay.

We struggle, we draw closer. We begin to notice that the “mountains” are not some singular object, but many different peaks and valleys and summits. I become focused on one particular majestic valley that would make a wonderful home. But I begin to notice that some of the others are focused on other places. Some want to travel beyond the mountains.

We carry on, getting closer. We have been holding and pulling and encouraging each other so long it is familiar and safe. We can’t imagine traveling alone. Thankfully, as we draw near our destination the heat lessons and the walking becomes easier. We can talk more. Able to have conversations about things other than the necessities of staying alive, it becomes clear that our paths are diverging and soon we will not be traveling as one. Some of the group are angry, others have already checked out and are not listening, a few are afraid of being left alone.

In the midst of this discussion, the oldest of our group, an old feeble man who I’d been expecting for weeks to drop off and die at any moment, walks to the front. He begins to speak – slowly, determinedly, and everyone stops to listen.

We’ve journeyed together, focused on those mountains. But we are individuals, each with our own dreams. We can decide to support each other, or argue about which direction to go. We can fight and bore our way into those mountains leaving some to fend from themselves, or we can help and encourage each other to settle in their own place. We can make that entire mountain range, and beyond, our community, or we can insist on our own vision for each other, and descend into loneliness and division. We can help each other dream, or we can kill dreams.

We were exhausted and didn’t want to fight. We knew he was right. Our journey would continue together, but with different destinations. We decided to camp and spend a few days helping each other plan where their journeys would lead when we reached the foot of the mountains and parted ways to climb our own peaks. Some would be journeying alone, others had the same destination in mind and would be part of smaller groups. But in spirit, we were still together, and we knew that whatever the future held we would be able to count on each other to make this entire country ahead of us a real community of hopes and dreams.

That is the spirit of dreaming, of family, and love we all need to cultivate with one another. Help each other dream, especially those we are closest to. Help them fan the flames of dreams and wonder, don’t be the one that stamps out the sparks that lead to wonderful, strange, unusual, joy filled lives.

Need a little motivation and direction for some outdoor adventures, a trip to Outside Magazine online is sure to motivate and direct you. I just like to visit sometimes and look at the pictures. Check it out – Outside Magazine click here!