Can you Handle Living Your Dream?

As much as I am a person who advocates change...I do not advocate change for the sake of change itself...

There must be a valid reason or benefit for change...otherwise...one should strictly hold true, to what they are doing...

That creates an interesting polarity in my life...

I am constantly on the hunt for things that require change...but a strict adherent to routine! This is the secret of a successful Continuous Improvement mind set...

My Saturday Mornings began early...with a routine...

After making myself minimally acceptable to the outside world...I would hop on my bicycle and ride...and think...but mostly ride!

I loved the feeling of the air passing by me...and the smooth feeling of the surface I rode on...

Sometimes I rode fast and hard...other times...leisurely! The pace was determined quite by chance...I could start out fast and end up slow...or just the opposite...or any of the various combinations...I just went with it! The one thing that I could count upon was that I would ride...and that was what I wanted...and got!

This morning started as usual and since Daylight Savings time had not yet hit...it was still dark...

I stumbled through my routine, and rode to my favorite bike trail...being early...I was guaranteed one thing...solitude!

As I rounded the corner at the entrance...through the darkness, I could make out that someone else was on "my trail!" He was slowly riding in circles on the wider portion of the path...half in the darkness and half in the filtered light coming from a nearby streetlight...

As I approached...I could see that the bike was old and rusted...and the rider was a bit unsure of himself and wobbly...making me smile just a bit! It looked as if he was practicing!

I breathed a sigh of relief...because I knew that even if he was to ride the trail...he couldn't keep up with me and I would have my solitude...that was nice...

I was still a distance away from him and I stopped to adjusted my shoes. He turned on his circular orbit and faced me...that is when I recognized who it was!

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "You hate bikes!"

"I don't hate bikes...they just remind me of when I was forced to ride them to get anywhere!" he taunted back, "I am old...and should be chauffeured around...not FORCED to contribute to my travels!"

His discontinued his previous route and coasted over to me...

"You didn't answer my question." I reminded...

"Rather than sleep in...I thought that I would see how you spend your Saturday mornings!" he smiled...

I knew that that was half-true...by the time I woke up...he had half a day in...so something else was up...

"Nice helmet" he commented..."Do you really ride fast enough to warrant wearing one...or is it just a bicycler's status symbol?"

"Nice bike" I responded, "I think you should wear my helmet...that thing is going to kill you if you don't!"..."When did you get a bike?"

He told me that a few weeks prior he was driving home and saw the bike in the trash pick-up...so he picked it up and fixed it up so that he could ride...I concluded that I did not want to know what it looked like before he fixed it up...

Come on he said...let's ride! We started down the path...he leading and I following. That is when I noticed that his rear tire was nearly flat...

We can't ride with a your tire like that!

He told me that it holds air for 2 to 3 hours before it goes totally flat...which from my calculations was nearly up...

"How long have you been here?" I asked

"I got here around 3" he replied, "I didn't want to miss you!"

"That was 3 and 1/2 hours ago..." I laughed, "I can not believe you!"

We rode about 500 yards and he asked if we could stop at the bench up ahead. I couldn't deny his request...riding a bike with a flat tire was total insanity...and I thought that I could teach him a "biking lesson."

We pedaled up to the park bench and I saw that directly in the middle were two cups of coffee and a box of donuts. It was a bit eerie!

"Those are ours..." he declared..."Yours is on the right and mine on the left!"

I was now a bit suspicious of his intent...things appeared too set-up!

"Does every bench along the path have something on it?" I inquired.

"No!" he responded, "Just the one at the end of our ride!" "I figured that we'd need some food and coffee when we finished up."

All I could do was laugh! The message was clear...I knew that my ride was over...

We took our places on the bench...

The mugs were "The Mrs" best! I knew that if she was still with him (from the stories he told) she would beat him senseless. They were filled with "his coffee" 6 parts grounds and 1 part water and real cream! Under the bench was a HUGE thermos and the pastries, were again in one of "The Mrs" finest...were of foreign origin, and probably flown in from some obscure country!

He never did anything halfway...that was one of the things I liked about him...it was almost cute!

As we watched the sun rise over the lake, whose shores began just a few feet from the path which between us and it...we quietly listened to the earth awaken and somewhat like a child's tea party politely shared the coffee and treats!

Then he broke the silence...

"Do you know what impresses me about you?" he asked.

"Nothing?" I replied...

He smiled...ignoring my snide remark "Your economy of action! I did not teach you that...it comes to you naturally...you can create WIN/WIN situations with little or no effort..."

"You have HIGH aspirations...dreams...too! You give the people what they need and it gives you what you need...but they come first..."

"AND...if it supports your dreams...they are rewarded by getting more than what they expected..."

"When you combine these two things...that is powerful...sometimes too powerful!"

"OK" I interrupted, "Where is this going?"

He continued as if I wasn't there..."Are you ready to handle your dream? Can you handle your dream?"

"What you aspire to do is HUGE! You are more than capable...in fact...you can do it in your sleep...but, ARE YOU READY TO HANDLE YOUR DREAM?"

"That is a tough question" I replied, "I guess that is why I have a mentor..."

He gave me that look of "keep quiet and listen" that I knew so well...and I took heed and filled my mouth with a huge bite...knowing I would not talk...if chewing!

"Everyone dreams...some of those dreams are big dreams...some people either by chance or fate or hard work get their dreams...and then they can't handle it! Some people work their entire life to retire and when retirement comes...have nothing to do...or they go crazy because the dream was too much!"

"To be totally honest with you...I couldn't handle my dream! SO I came back to work...something safe and secure and predictable."

"You are going to get your dreams and aspirations...it will take time and effort...but at some point in your life...you are going to have the chance to open the door and it will be there!"

"I hope that I am here to see that day!"

"When that door is in front of you...will you be ready to open it?" "That is a scary situation!" It will not open for you...no one will open it for you...and it will not be open when you arrive!" "It will be only upon your action that the door will open..."

"After the door is open...you and those who are with you, will enter an entirely different world!" "AND it will be the one you always dreamed of!"

"Dream wisely...if you are flippant with your dreams...you could create a mess!"

"Use what comes naturally to you today as the foundation of your dreams and aspirations...have many win with you...whether it is your family...friends...trusted coworkers...whoever...make it a WIN/WIN..."

"Don't be afraid when the time comes...chase it...not as if it is the arrival, but another start!"

"That is what true dreams and aspirations are...beginnings not endings!"

"Even the end of Grimm's fairy tales ended with...and they LIVED happily ever after..."

"The story end with a beginning..."

"You know...I brought "The Mrs" with us today...in her best china...for a reason..."

"To tell her that I was sorry...for not following through with our dreams!"

"I got scared! and I blew it!"

"Don't make the same mistake..."

He smiled, took a deep breath, leaned forward and gazed into the water...he suddenly was really far away...and we sat quietly again!

I did not want to pull him back to the park...where ever he was, he needed to be there...he was dreaming...and he wasn't afraid to be there...

He was brought back to the present when the shadows moved well behind us, and "The Mrs" gave us a warm hug through the early rays of the sun...It was as if she heard what he shared and thanked him for saying it...and me for being the one who brought it out!

The tire on his bike was totally flat. Knowing that he had about 10 miles to ride, I told him that I would go and get the car, if he waited here...and we'd take him home...

He them reached into the empty pastry container and took out the cardboard that it was sitting on...

"I have this handled." he said

On the back side of the cardboard was written...

"Take this bicycle, if you need it...it has served me well"

He wedged the sign between a cable and the frame...

That's when I noticed that the bicycle was made in his home town...

Without saying a word we walked back out to the trail entrance...to where I saw his car parked...

After he started his car...he rolled down the window and said, "I'll buy a new bike if I ever see the need..."

The very next weekend we rode 40 miles...