Can You Live the Life of Your Dreams?

Getting what we want out of life.  Is this even a possibility?  I didn't use to believe so.  I used to think that you just get a job, work all week, enjoy your life on the evenings, weekends and on vacation.  I used to think that life was hard and you only got to enjoy it sometimes, when you planned out some fun with friends.  I would just barely eke through the school day to get to volleyball, basketball, track, softball or theater practice and then I would get through that so I could go home and do homework and watch tv or pass out.  We were most certainly discouraged from laughing and enjoying ourselves in class and shouted at for being too loud in the hallways in between.  I took those habits with me to college.  Work hard all day in class, then work at job, then go home and study, watch tv or pass out.  Party hard on Thursdays (Ladies Night!  All you can drink until midnight!) and of course all Friday and Saturday nights.  You wound yourself up so tight all week long that when it was time to unwind things got a little, let's just say, out of hand.
Fast forward to going to school for my Master's degree and working at "real" jobs for another 10 years, in Hawaii for Pete's sake, and I was still only enjoying my life on the weekends.  We got two dogs, moved to the most beautiful beach in the world, got married and worked all week to earn too little money to go to the beach for a few hours on the weekends.

My Babies!!

A few years ago I went through one of those "perfect storm" times in my life.  We all go through them, sometimes more than once.  I was lucky that mine wasn't too devastating, although it felt like it at the time.  All in the span of a few months, we found out we owed 4000 dollars on our taxes, our dog hurt his leg and we had to have expensive surgery if we wanted to fix it (our dog is our baby), Hawaii furloughed all State Employees (that's me!) and our mortgage insurance rate was due to go up in July.  I was super depressed, but I didn't realize it.  I was trying to "eat healthy" which mostly included counting calories because I was a bit overweight at the same time, and this was leaving me hungry and cranky.
I caved in and went to see a therapist.  It was one of the bravest and best moves of my life.  The poor guy was new to being a therapist, I think.  I went to go talk to him and I was all held together, and then I just started bawling.  He didn't have to say much of anything.  It was a starting point for me.  I had decided that I didn't want to live the way I was any more.
Fast forward again, to the year 2013.  I am 50 pounds lighter and a bazillion times happier.  I still work at my "real" job, but I have my license for Marriage and Family Therapy within my sights.  I have a group of amazing friends that take care of me and my amazing husband has been by my side through it all, through the ups and downs.

So who cares about all of the above?  The question that I am trying to answer, the theory that I am testing out is that you can live, not just a good life, but the life of your dreams.  So, it's great that I'll have my license soon and I can enjoy most days.  But what I really want is to love my job.  I want to be a life coach and a therapist and run a retreat center.  I want my family and friends to all live close to me.  I want to have an abundant amount of money and be able to fly around the world with my husband and dogs and maybe someday children.  I want there to be a farm nearby where animals are raised ethically and butchered humanely so I can feel good about my food choices.  I want to run retreats and speak publically and teach and coach.  I want to have unlimited choices in workouts and not have to worry about how much it costs.  I will do muay thai kickboxing and crossfit and gymnastics and dance.  I will feel Powerful, Clear, Connected, Energized, Supported and Free every day.

Is this possible?  For the first time in my life, I think it is.  I feel that it is.  The experiment is underway.  I will keep my sights on what I want and live joyfully in the present moment.  I will find a balance in my day to day life and I will move towards that dream life.  And I will prove that it is possible.  Are you excited?  I sure am.  Hope you join me.  What's your dream?