Now is Now

I finished Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin, today!

And it ended on a lovely note:

"One of the persistent follies of human nature is to imagine true happiness is just out of reach.  The 'arrival fallacy' describes our tendency to believe that once we arrive at a particular destination, then we'll be happy.  People generally expect that the future will be slightly happier than the past; in one study, when asked where they thought they'd be in ten years, 95 percent of people expected their lives would be better in the future than in the past, and people already satisfied with their lives believed they'd be even more satisfied.

"...this is it.  Now is now, and if I waited to be happier, waited to have fun, waited to do the things that I know I ought to do, I might never get the chance."

Now is now.

How often do we put everything on hold - until we have enough money, enough time, enough energy, enough support, enough, enough, enough?! 

Life doesn't work that way...  And I'm learning that there are some goals I may never acheive - but half the fun is the process of working towards them and dreaming about the "someday."  If I never quite get there?  At least I had the dream... and I can't say I wasn't trying!

But when we don't even begin the process...  that's when it feels sad.  The "dream" loses its splendor when we don't even try.  It becomes mocking and hopeless.

So yes, I have some dreams - and I have a process in place to get there!  And it may take forever for it to happen - but now is now.  And I'm not waiting any longer!


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  It's my little sister's birthday!  Happy birthday, Em!

2.  A sleepy morning with puppy cuddles.
3.  Not being tempted by the Hubby's popcorn last night.
4.  Don Miller's Facebook post today:  "Great characters make decisions and move. Life is 10% choosing and 90% movement."  Perfect!
5.  Jennifer Knapp's song, "Undo Me."
6.  A great elliptical workout!
7.  A gorgeous sunset!  (This picture doesn't even begin to do it justice...)

8.  A friend sticking up for me.
9.  Tonight's episode of "Castle."
10.  Falling asleep to a good book tonight!

QotD:  What's the last dream you remember?
We bought the house in South Minneapolis that we loved a few years ago...  And I had a business that I did out of the bright, cheery den in the front of the house.  It was perfect.  Good dream!