Dream Big

Have you ever heard the Rascal Flatts song “My Wish”? I’ve heard it many times and recognized it as a pleasant poem about life’s dreams. But this morning I heard an interview with the songwriter and learned that it was written for one of his children. He had a list of things he wished for her in her life and one day turned that list into a song.

The interview gave me a new perspective on the song as it played moments later. This section got my attention the most:

My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too.

Most of us have dreams for ourselves but this is a case of someone wanting to help another person achieve their dreams. Dream big, worry small and know someone loves you and wants your dreams to come true. That is a powerful message!

Dreams change as we age and often the biggest of those happen during mid-life, which many aging experts define as ages 36 to 55. Mid-life crisis is the label given to the biggest concentration of those changes and I know from what I’ve experienced in my own mid-life so far, that crisis is often an understatement.

The upside to this is that we are at a time in our lives when we can shed other people’s expectations of what our life should look like and define our lives for ourselves. We can now pursue those dreams we’ve always had and kept putting off. We can try to obsess less and just move on into the life we really want.

Our best success in this redefinition stage will be achieved with support from loved ones, be it family or friends. The people who matter the most will be the ones who want the same things for us and maybe for them and who will still be with us when we ‘get where we’re getting to,’ to paraphrase the song.

I’ve always been a dreamer but it has only been in my mid-life years that I acknowledged I have the power to shape my life and live my dreams. My first mid-life crisis was right on schedule at age 36. I’m now on my third. I came out of the other two stronger and achieved most of the dreams I had at the time. I know I’ll get through this one too. I have friends who love me as much as I love them and we all want the same things.

My wish for them and for me is that this life becomes all that (they/I) want it to.