To think is to be undermined.
—Albert Camus
I’ve been tagged by Adebola to write about how my dreams have moved my life forward and enriched my life. I’m not sure how useful this post will be to others, because my goals have always been long range. I mean ridiculously so.
I mentioned in At Home In the Universe that I had a shift of consciousness in the fifth grade that blew my little world apart and replaced it with a world/universe view that was infinitely larger. It was scary but exhilarating, and I never wanted to go back. The only way I could explore this new world was through books, so I read a lot. By the time I got to high school one of my main goals was to develop a philosophy of life that would give me a strong foundation. So I read Western and Eastern philosophy, some of the Great Books of the Western World and the Harvard Classics, and books on science. I had friends my own age, too, but I did hang out a lot with my role models…wise old men.
I had also decided when I was in grammar school that I wanted to go to college. I was the first person in my family to do that, and I wasn’t sure my folks would support the idea, so I saved all the money I could. That wasn’t a dream, it was a non-negotiable decision. I didn’t know how it would happen, but somehow I would go. I wanted a good, solid education.
As you might guess, I was a serious kid for a while. But as time went on I lightened up a lot. I was developing a better foundation for myself, and I had friends and teachers who loved learning, too. One of the teachers was Miss Myers, a young, vivacious woman who taught sophomore English. She was a new role model. She loved ideas, but she was also fun. She had even traveled around Europe with a friend one summer, including hitchhiking for a while. I never expected to do anything that adventuresome, but I decided I wanted to be more like her…the inner her..the confident, intelligent, fun-loving her. I knew it would be a long project, so I gave myself 20 years. Yep, that’s what I wanted to be like when I was 35.
As it turned out, I got a scholarship to Stanford and majored in physics, and I spent two quarters my junior year at Stanford in Germany. I also spent another month or so traveling around Europe that summer…including hitchhiking with a friend. After graduation I decided not to get my Ph. D. but to work and save money for more traveling. My husband and I married right after he got his Ph. D., and we spent 13 months in France and traveled around Europe during holidays and weekends. Then we came back the long way…including the Middle East, East Africa, India, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. We got back to the states just before my 26th birthday, which we celebrated with my folks.
Nine years later, when I was 35, I thought about my high school dream. On the whole I had achieved it by then. My main feeling then was gratitude, for my folks, especially my mom, my biggest supporter… for Miss Myers and the other great teachers I had in high school, both in real life and from the printed page…and for Stanford, for giving me a chance to go to Europe for the first time, a chance to explore the world outside of books.
So, some of my dreams and supporters have made a big difference in my life. What about you? Have you had dreams that moved you forward and changed your life? Who has helped you achieve them? Who are you grateful to? This site is about sharing, so please tell us your thoughts in the comments section. .
Photo by PhilP_England via Flickr. Used with permission by owner, who reserves all rights.
Check out the rest of the posts in this series at Adebola’s site. Thank you, Adebola, for bringing back some wonderful memories.
Related post: What I Learned From Being Downsized
Thanks to everyone who commented on the last post: Adebola, Bob, Dean, Ellen, Carol, Tracey, Abu, Secret Simon, Armannd, and Shirley.
22 comments ↓
Jean,
You have really made my day! This post is awesome. I can now look back to my High School days and wish I have learnt about dreams then. I was just floating around then.
How great it is to find one’s purpose at an early stage.
Your post should be the last for this project and I am glad it is this type of post I am using to round everything up.
Adebola
[…] Read Jean’s Post Here […]
What an inspiring story!
Unfortunately, my childhood dreaming was impaired by violence and addiction. Though I turned my life around at 16, it did take some time to lift the clouds of the junkie mindset, so I was a bit of a late bloomer.
Today, I’m very grateful for everything I have experienced. It has taught compassion and appreciation for many things in life I might have otherwise taken for granted.
I am most grateful that I can appreciate the variety of experiences we all have and learn from the experiences of others. For instance, reading your story reminds me of the importance of roll models which is something I have not always valued in my own life.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Adebola and Danny,
Thank you both!
Oh Danny! Would have loved to have your story but I can’t extend the date. But I am sure you have something wonderful to share. Will get in touch with you another time man.
Jean, love you
Jean, what an inspiring story of how are dreams can come true! I’ll be making my first trip to Europe (London) this summer. I am very much looking forward to it!
I found out about your post from the Motivational Corner blog of which I am a subscriber.
What a great post! Your story about what happened in fifth grade immediately brought me back to when I was in elementary school. I had a fifth grade teacher who forever changed my life with three simple words, THAT’S RIGHT, STEPHEN! It caused a ripple effect, planting a seed of greatness in my mind and helped me become who I am today.
I wrote a story called “Three Words” over at my blog if you’re interested in reading it. It was because of my fifth grade teacher, my parents and an assortment of other “teachers” who appeared in my life at just the right time to nudge me in the right direction.
The story can be found here:
Three Words
Enjoy!
Danny,
I agree with Adebola, I would love to hear your story. You say on your site that Steve Pavlina has influenced you. I assume you’ve read the following description on his site:
“Steve’s passionate pursuit of personal growth began in January 1991 while sitting in a jail cell. Arrested for felony grand theft, the full weight of responsibility for his life came crashing down upon him. He realized his own decisions had put him there and that no one was going to save him. He knew his recovery wouldn’t be easy, and he felt inadequate to the task. He was 19 years old.
Upon returning home from jail, Steve received a letter informing him that he’d been expelled from school. Apparently schools do that sort of thing when your GPA starts with the decimal point. In that moment he understood that his options were either to grow up or to give up. He chose to grow.”
So, what prompted your decision to change? Could you write a post about it? I’ve read your About page, but it didn’t talk about your past.
Adebola
I started to write that I would love to hear your story, too, but decided to go poking around to see if I could find it myself. It’s at http://www.the-lessons-of-life.com/sis.html if anyone else is interested. It’s well worth reading. You’ll need to scroll down a bit to get to it.
Bob,
I’m happy for you on your trip to England next summer. I hope you’ll share it with us on your blog.
Stephen,
Thanks for the link to your story. I watched the video and think it’s neat that your teacher recognized your voice after all those years.
Thanks Jean for “discovering” me
I think my story is best told in my book available on the home page. It is a must read for all dreamers
Jean, I think I will be starting off another project in December because of an inspiration I have received from some of the responses. I will send you a mail on that to see if you can start it off here, if the time is there.
I should be making my trip around the world come next year. I can’t wait to discover new grounds
God bless you Jean.
Stephen, I would have appreciated it, if you had participated in the Writing Project.
Adebola,
I downloaded your book and have started to read it. Next Monday’s post will be addressed to a question Danny has asked me, and I think your book ties in to that.
Alright Jean, I look forward to the post.
[…] 7) Jean, The Cheerful Monk: Building a Solid Foundation […]
Hi Jean,
Excellent post. It is amazing how much life can change, when we reexamine what is important in life.
[…] Cheerful Monk - Devoted to Happiness as a spiritual practice including post such as Building a solid foundation […]
Great dreams Jean! Mine were simple. I graduated liberal arts college 1955. No job training was offered unless I went to grad school which I wasn’t inclined to do. (Actually women then were teachers, nurses or secretaries!) I WANTED TO BE A HOUSEWIFE WITH KIDS. I did–4 kids. I WANTED TO BE PHYSICALLY STRONG. Stopped practicing organ 2 hrs. a day & took up sports (ice skating, skiing {downhill & cross co.}, back-packing, hiking, river-running {kayak, raft} Mt. & road bicycling {+160 mi./wk. & a wk. bike trip a yr. —for 35 yrs.) Perfect!– except I have a Monkey Trap problem.
bikehikebabe,
Thank you for showing us a different model of success. It sounds as if your life has been one! About the Monkey Trap: you can always change that if it’s worth the time and effort. But who knows, your life may be doing just find without making that change.
[…] So the question today is, “What new role models have you found or created for yourself?” I’ve been having a heart-warming time the past few days thinking of mine. I take scenes from movies, books or my life and use them as visual metaphors for qualities I want to develop/maintain in myself. There are too many to discuss in detail here, but they’re vivid and inspirational…and they make my life rich. I’ve discussed one of them, the one I used most from the ages of 15 to 35, over at Cheerful Monk. […]
Actually, Jean, we’re a lot alike. I spent a lot of time as a child reading - and reading - and reading. I think that’s what opened me up to the possibility that the world “out there” was more interesting than I had originally thought.
I’ve been something of a rolling stone ever since.
[…] I’ve always believed in building a solid foundation, but I also believe in being flexible and open to serendipity, to the luck that comes my way. What […]
[…] I read it when I was 15… I was trying to develop my own philosophy of life, one of my main goals in high school. What better place to start than Plato, I […]
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