Letting Go of the Future

 

Once upon a time, I had dreams of moving to Europe. I was going to go to a University there, find my dream man, raise children in some chic city, and spend the rest of my days there doing all the exciting things I imagined I would do. While that dream never came to fruition, there were plenty of others that took its place. 

During a particularly long and arduous period of my life, my aspirations sustained me in the darkest of times. The only problem was that none of them were attainable. I tried in vain to force some sense of importance or meaning by building a dream life that only existed in my head. Over time, instead of being a positive force in my life, my imagination made me feel unaccomplished, lazy, and less than.

Over the years, I removed myself from bad situations and learned to be happy with my life and with what I had. After all, happiness is a choice for most people, myself included. I started to replace unrealistic expectations with achievable goals, and turned my life, while not the life in Europe I aspired to all those years ago, into a pretty great one.

I let go of the fantasy of what I thought I wanted, understood these feelings for what they were, and embraced the wonder of the life I have now.

No, I'm not going to be a world-famous writer. No, I'm not going to retire to London. No, I'm not going to be a traveling musician in a metal band. 

I don't know what my future looks like, but I know it's going to be great.