Follow Your Noble Dream

Let us endeavor to live so that when we die, even the undertaker will be sorry. ~ Mark Twain

I'm going public with a dream. I'm not mentioning it to toot my own horn, draw attention to myself, or gain people's approval. I'm going public with a dream of mine to encourage you in following yours.

Dreams are important for us, incredibly important. I've had this dream in the back of my mind for years but I've made excuse after excuse why I shouldn't/wasn't going to follow it. I'm sure the excuses I believed for not following this dream I have are similar to the ones you have for not following yours"

"This is just a stupid idea."

"Who am I to think I'm someone special?"

"Give me a break, Chris, everyone wants to do that but it's just not realistic."

"Chris you need to be responsible. You can't afford to neglect people in your life because your out chasing this pipe dream."

There is some truth in the last excuse. I've made commitments and I have responsiblities to which I am accountable, we all do. But why can't I pursue a dream without letting the rest of my life fall apart? Why can't you?

Turns out the only things that can be more powerful than a dream we've been given are the excuses we make up for not giving them a shot. But I'm tired of making excuses. Every day that slips away is one less day I have to take a step towards the dream. My time here on earth is limited. So is yours.

What's my dream?
My dream is to change lives through music. To challenge, inspire, encourage, and comfort people through song. Music can reach people in ways few things can; it is one of the greatest means of communication and I want to tap into it to send the message that there is a God who cares, that he's with us, that life is short, precious, and we need to live each day as if it were our last. I want to spur people to live creatively. I want to send that message to as many people as possible as soon as possible. And I want to play with the best. I want to make music with James Taylor, Garth Brooks, Stephen Curtis Chapman and John Mellencamp.

There. I said it. To be honest it's pretty hard, I think because once we start talking about it people expect us to do something about it, and maybe that's good. We risk people thinking we're stupid and being ridiculed. Oh well. People were pretty sure the world was flat before Columbus sailed.

But I've discovered something VERY important since I about 1 month ago, when I started really sharing this dream with other people and this is the reason I'm writing this. Pursuing this dream openly has breathed a freshness into the rest of my life; it's brought perspective to my current life; somehow it's brought a freedom to not take myself so seriously, to laugh easier, to smile at the imperfections in myself and others rather than be too critical. I find myself less stressed.

You see, most people are afraid of the effort it will take to pursue a dream but actually, it takes quite a bit of work to not pursue a dream as well. A dream is like a puppy, it takes energy to chase one down, but it seems like it takes more to try to hold it and make it be still (go to Petsmart and hold one, you'll see what I mean pretty fast, unless your holding a basset hound, but even they squirm a lot too.)

Once you give way to following a noble dream, believe it or not there's a sense of relief. There's no more penting it up inside. It's like you can breathe.

Dreams pursued bring life to us. So what's yours?
Do you dream about going overseas and making a difference in Africa of Asia, or maybe south in Central/South America? What are you waiting for?

Do you dream about asking someone out because they really interest you but you're afraid of rejection? When will you stop making excuses? The worst they can say is 'no'. Would that ruin you for life? Probably not, probably not even for an hour. In any case, the odds are with us if we try and then keep trying.

Remember, Lincoln failed in several runs at political office.
Jordan got cut from his basketball team his sophomore year in high school.
The Beatles had 2 drummers quit and were turned down by at least 3 record labels before stardom. One label turned them down because "guitar groups are on their way out."

So much for failure.

What's 'the dream' for you? Being a homeowner? Now is a better market to buy than ever.
Starting a church or a small group?
Fighting for the rights of the poor?
Going to film school so you can make documentaries?
Getting into med school? Nursing School? Becoming a teacher? Becoming...?
Writing songs of your own?
What exactly is it that your waiting for to get on with it?

There's a Chinese proverb that reads: He who waits for roast duck to fly into his mouth must wait a very long time.
Go out. Get that duck. Cook it up. Enjoy it. Today is the day.