Dreaming Forward

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward."

This quote by Rocky Balboa hangs on my door, i read it every morning before I leave my room... It is sort of my moment of reflection on the journey that has gotten me where I am today.. It my moment of appreciation..

In life I have taken my fair share of hits.. And even when I was knocked down and didnt think i would be able to get up I found something, someone, I found a reason to pull myself up and keep moving forward..

Homelessness and drug abuse was a big part of my life as a young man, there i was 19 years old dreaming of bigger things as I lay on a park bench staring at the stars, and waiting for the buzz to wear off so i could pass out and do it all over again the next day. I remember dreaming of freedom.. a fantasy where i could travel the world to exotic places, and experience different cultures. I dreamt of a world where waking up was the highlight of my day, waking and feeling inspired to just open my eyes and see what the world had in store for me.. I dreamt of this life.

All that dreaming was fuel for the life I live today.. I realized that without hard work dreams are nothing more than just that. And without dreams hard work is nothing more than just work.
I learned that anything can grow from hard work and a dream... No matter how bad it hurts and how low you get, as long as you keep getting up when you get knocked down, keep working hard and keep dreaming. Anything is possible...

 I have found "homes" in different countries, I have found family through a connection in suffering and travel..  On trails, in forests, and deserts, in the depths of the deepest canyons and on the tallest mountains, I have found my most valuable dream.. Myself.

Thank to that younger version of myself for getting up, standing tall, and for dreaming....