Dreams can get lost but not forgotten.
We all have dreams that we pursued when we were younger. You know, the dream of being President of the United States, or starting your own bakery, or playing the violin, or whatever. For whatever the reason, we made other decisions and left those dreams to follow another path. Sometimes we just lose interest or practical real life needs get in the way of following our hearts. Whatever the reason, it is never to late to go back and revisit those dreams. You may have to modify the dream but there is always a way, if there is still love in your heart for that particular dream, to bring it back into your life in a meaningful way.
Take my dream many years ago of being a professional dancer. Those practical real life issues like needing a job, wanting to be on my own supporting myself, feeling torn between a career in the arts and a career in business and law as well as physical limitations got in the way. That is, I let them get in the way and that was OK. I love the life I chose for myself. Dance still played a part in that I took lessons, spent time in classes in NYC, spent years teaching in a friend’s dance studio, and attended countless hours of dance concerts where I saw the most amazing dancers.
Take joy in seeing others do it well.
Recently, I even went to NYC to see the unbelievable Misty Copeland perform the leading role in Romeo and Juliet at the Metropolitan Opera House and just sat there with tears in my eyes through most of the performance because she is such a breathtakingly beautiful dancer. What was equally as beautiful was watching all the dancers in the crowds pouring into the Met for the performance. They were all ages but it was very clear from the poise with which they carried themselves that they, too, were coming to see something amazing and something to which they aspired. No one left disappointed.
Take advantage of the time that retirement provides you to revisit those dreams.
So now that I have retired, I decided to mix up my workouts by returning to ballet class. Now, this is not an easy feat having been away all these years but it is a class being taught by my dear friend Vanessa with whom I studied dance for years and at whose studio I taught for years. So the body does not quite work the way it did years ago. You know what I mean. After years of karate, dancing, gymnastics, tennis, skiing, climbing stairs and just walking – there are aches and pains. Where I used to be able to bend forward and touch my nose to my knees – I can at least lean forward and look at my knees. I am not kidding!
Vanessa is very kind to us in class. This is her class for the older dancer who has been away from classes for a while. She takes her time and works very gently with us and I do so appreciate her understanding.
One thing I told her when I started in the Fall was that I do not do jumps – no impact on these knees! So I was a little surprised one day in class when she asked us to come to the middle of the room and prepare to do jumps. Jumps! Really? So I just looked behind me and there was no one there. Then I looked at the dancer beside me and she looked back at me with a very puzzled expression. Then I turned back to Vanessa and uttered the all time classic line “You talking to me?” We all had a good laugh. See at this stage of the game, if you cannot laugh at yourself, what fun is that?
Whatever your dream, make time to live it.
So maybe you are not a person to go back and revisit your inner ballerina, or take up snowboarding after 60, or start lifting weights in the gym. What is your dream? What was something you wished you had done years ago when you were younger? Just think back to whatever it was that you enjoyed many years ago and how it got lost over the years. Then go back and revisit it and find the joy all over again. On this journey, my feet may not leave the floor but on most days, I am still floating.