Yesterday, my husband and I sold the house we’ve called home for the last 14 years and moved to a rental apartment where we’ll spend the next two months (and a little more) while waiting on our visa application for the move to Japan.
When I decided, a year ago, to close my law practice and take a sabbatical year to climb the nihon hyakumeizan (hundred famous mountains of Japan) the endeavor seemed crazy but exciting–a chance to face my fears and live the life I’d always dreamed of living. Now that the time has come, it’s also terrifying.
Fighting cancer has shown me the importance of treasuring every day. It’s taught me that experiences mean more than “things” and that “security” is largely an illusion. No matter how your job, your bank account, or your retirement plan might tell you you’re doing, the truth is–none of us know. Life is fragile, and we can’t count on “someday.”
The time to live our dreams is now.
So when the fear strikes–as, I admit, it did for me last night–I remind myself that this adventure is my lifelong dream, and that if I wait for “someday” when I could attempt to live my dream without risk or fear, the day would never come.
With great risk comes great reward–and, as I decided a year ago, I’m finished living safe. It’s time to see where the dream road leads–and as for what happens “after,” that’s merely another adventure I’ll be living on the way.
Don’t live your life in quiet desperation. Seize your dream, and find a way to live it now.