● Do We Dare Dream?

01.01.2024

D ream, dare, do. Dream, dare, do. Dream, dare, and do it… again.

All it takes is one good year.

Surround yourself with people who make you hungry for life, touch your heart, and nourish your soul.

Do we dare dream?

Yes.

We cannot dare not to dream. It is where hope resides but not for long. The dreamer must eventually wake up. And realize the dream.

It’s here and you cannot send it back, so embrace the new year. What would you do if you could not fail? Aren’t you curious about… everything?

Listen

I heard it in a song, “I’ve been here before. It feels so familiar.” That’s it. Dreams are the goals that your soul provides for you to make your reality.

Life lessons are not journeys traveled in straight lines but are crossroads formed years and miles apart.

– Gina Greenlee

I’m here to honor, love, and define myself. My perspective is unique to me. It is my story to tell.

It’s not Everest… yet

Many years ago, I made a scary move. I joined the Army to see the world, save a little money, and earn my educational benefits through the GI Bill. With my parents permission and approval, I left home for the first time.

Basic training in the south raised questions in my mind. I noted the contradiction between my training to defend this country’s interests overseas, but not my interests here. I received my advanced training in Massachusetts. After a few months and a quick trip home, I shipped out for my assignment in the Army Security Agency in Augsburg, Germany. I was taught important lessons about groupthink. As you know by now, a lot of it did not stick!

However, it helped me to grow up fast and put me on the road to be the adult that I am. I was in Europe during a lot of political strife and violence including car bombings, so my solo travels were restricted a bit, but I did get around some.

Bus trips, offered through the recreation center, took my mind off of the “job”. Among the trips I took was one to Paris during the U.S. bicentennial. It was a wonderful ironic moment in time celebrated with our ally, France.

The Netherlands

After college, I worked for an international oil and gas conglomerate in the southwest. It had exploration, drilling, refining, marketing, trading, real estate investment and retail operations all over the world.

The tremendous ebbs and flows in that industry were, looking back now, a thrilling ride. Alas, I was laid off from my last position before the implosion of the company and the industry. The experience was bittersweet, forcing me to make changes in my life when I did not want to make them at the time. However, I moved on to better things.

Eventually, I found a position in an old east coast bank analyzing and reporting on their corporate and private clients. I took a chance and put in a request for a short sabbatical. The process included justifying or tying in this trip to my job at the bank. It was not free, of course. Some of my time off was paid for by accumulated vacation days. A bit of negotiation was required for the rest.

Surprisingly, my boss who was preparing for a heart transplant, approved my application package.

The trip

I traveled to the Netherlands (Holland) as part of a Rotary business exchange group. A group of women from that country visited with us at our jobs for six weeks. They also toured other businesses, cultural and government agencies.

We reciprocated.

I stayed in the homes of Dutch Rotarians and their families in a handful of cities and towns around the country for each week that I was there.

We were welcomed by businesses, government and law enforcement officials in Amsterdam, the Hague, Rotterdam, Gouda, and other cities and towns in the country. Behind the scenes tours of the flower and cheese markets, intermodal transportation and shipping operations made me appreciate the challenges that these very big businesses present to those here.

After all, the Dutch corporate model, for good and bad, had a few centuries head start establishing its mark on the planet.

In the Hague, I was welcomed by an esteemed old gentleman who was a member of the Dutch resistance during World War II. We communicated with respect and understanding.

The gift

His story made me realize the actuality of our shared existence as humans. Everyone fears something that they may have to battle against, loves someone who may not be in their life forever, and perhaps too soon loses family, friends, and comrades. Miraculously, this man was still humble, kind, and gracious after experiencing these and worse things.

And he cared about people. He reached out to me and gave me a very special gift, a memento of that tumultuous time, that I treasure. It remains a symbol, for him and the people who came before him, who dream, act, and sacrifice almost all they had for freedom.

Our interaction was poignant and remains in my memory and heart to this day.

Recalling all of that was difficult for me for two reasons. First as a black woman, it was hard to even consider that any other group of people had it harder than my people – my family – in this country. I was thinking and looking through a child’s eyes. Then, opening myself up and listening to people’s stories, their history, challenged me to look beyond my own suffering.

Many years and experiences, and bare exposure to the world helped me see that all humans are suffering in one way or another. Our ability to get up each day in the circumstances and times we find ourselves determines how we will respond or react every moment for the rest of our lives.

Paris and Chantilly, France

Summer of 2019

I returned to France for a women’s retreat outside Paris near the Château de Chantilly, horse country. It was an experience that helped me open myself to the world.

Before the trip, my personal world was growing smaller, threatening to squeeze the life and joy out of me.

Being surrounded by a bunch of women, the majority of whom looked like me, represented parts of myself that needed to heal.

Chicago

Sisters from this city are special. Figuring out what makes them this way is going to take a lifetime!

Spain

A couple million footprints in Spain. Well, you know…

For now

Back home planning footfalls somewhere else in the world!

And I am discovering more about myself, still. It is never too late, but it’s time.

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I am studying my list of projects for the coming months. If you don’t hear from me for a few days, just know that I am making noise in my wood shop. See you in a little while.

In the meantime, “Do Nothing Until You Hear From Me” or just listen to these ladies:

Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday? You don’t have to choose. Enjoy them both.

My favorite film for New Years Eve/ New Years Day is “Irony of Fate” (1976). It is funny and poignant.

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Baadaye
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Hasta la próxima vez
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Mata Ne (またね)

S♥️