Dreams Fulfilled
I have had this dream for years, a simple one, but yet: a wooden bench for the garden of my apartment building. When you drive through the Bavarian countryside wooden benches standing with their backs towards the farmhouses is a common sight. Often you can see people sitting there, either talking together or alone reading the newspaper, drinking a beer or just daydreaming. I don’t know what it is about that, but it is the epitome of cozy relaxation for me. And that inspired me to have this desire for a wooden bench.
Nevertheless, for this reason or that, I haven’t bought one. I had garden furniture, but no wooden bench. I would always talk myself out of it. Until two weeks ago, when I found a really good combo of a wooden bench and a table for an even better price. So I picked up a minivan and my Dad, and off we went to get it from another part of town.
What makes this bench a seed you might ask? By it being a visible reminder for me that I can have my dreams fulfilled. I dreamed of a bench for so long. Now I have one because I decided to stop listening to all the reasons for not doing it, but instead to make it happen. I did what needed to be done.
That’s not the end, though. Now, as I sit on my bench, I see what else there needs to be done: the fence needs cleaning, the bench and table would do well with a grinding and a few layers of spar varnish to withstand the rain, the garden needs weeding, I want some potted flowers hanging from the fence, and nice and comfortable seat cushions for the chairs and the bench, the lawn needs regular mowing, etc. That’s the other side of dreams fulfilled: the ongoing tasks and effort that come with making dreams happen.
Yet, as I sit there thinking of all the things that still need to be done I can already start enjoying the benefits: the cozy relaxation I mentioned above, enjoying sitting outside, while writing for Consciously Woman or reading a book, becoming more grounded simply by being outside more, the daydreams of having friends over to chat and have dinner with while enjoying the garden….
I see the steps to fulfilling my dreams in this bench story as a template: the decision making, the planning, the doing, the changing of plans, the enjoying, the feeling rewarded for all the effort, and the realization that dreams, no matter how old, can come true. I can and will use this template again to make other dreams happen.
Written by: Sabine Roggermeier; Gluecklich Im Sein
