The other day while I was in a store I noticed the cutest hard shell, wheeled travel bag.  It was black with simple white polka dots.  It was big enough to carry all of my current earthly belongings and the fact it had wheels seemed perfect for my next trip; carrying a heavy shoulder bag full of underwear and jeans just isn’t fun for me at my age.  I did not, however, buy it as it seemed too expensive.  Little did I know what would happen next…

That night I fell asleep for a change, instead of tossing and turning for hours.  I must have been thinking about the travel bag because it showed up in a dream.  It was just in the corner of the room, not doing anything but sitting absolutely still.  I then realized that it was taunting me in some bizarre passive-aggressive, dream-state way.  It wanted me to pack up and continue my epic journey. 

Earlier that day,  I momentarily thought about bar tending my way across Europe and ending up in Greece. I thought after spending some time at a farm stay in Greece I would trek back to Buffalo, Wyoming for Longmire Days in July.  I wanted to make the epic journey really epic but then the reality set in.  Number one, I don’t even know how to bar tend even if I could find someone to hire me for the short term in a foreign country.  Number two, I do not have a passport, never had one.  Number three, the amount in my checking account is not conducive to travel domestically, let alone overseas.  I have the dreams, I just do not have the means.  

That cute little bag knew I was conflicted yet again.  I really want to hit the road but it is not possible right now.  I seem to have lots of ideas but no resources to make them happen. I often wonder how  visionary people do their visionary things.  Somehow I do not think it is just about money: there has to be another component to the equation that I am missing.  

I have been hearing stories of late by people who blazed the trails back in the day or who are currently blazing the trail now.  I want in on that action, I want to create stories and memories that inspire others and that will carry me into my twilight years with the knowledge that I got out “there” and did something.  I just cannot reconcile obligations versus ideals.  

I’m sure there are trails to be blazed right here where I am.  I just cannot seem to find them. That is a common theme of this blog…how my vision does not add up to my reality.  That cute little bag knows that I know what I want but that the implementation of the vision is what is lacking, and the never-ending list of necessary resources is usually a bit on the shy side also.

I need to study how others have lived their dreams and see if I can recreate some of the magic in my life.  I need to figure out how this kind of lifestyle is lived.  I thought it would be easy to be carefree and reckless; turns out it is a more calculated risk then I previously knew. 

Here is to figuring out how to live one’s dream and still be somewhat responsible. And here is to picking up that cute travel bag for when the opportunity becomes a reality.