When I tell people that I live in the mountains the reaction I get is astonishingly similar.
"Wow! You're so lucky. How did you get to live there?"
My response always surprises them.
"I chose to move there."
It's not meant to be a terse, or an insincere reply. In fact it's the most sincere response I can give. You see most of us, myself included, put up barriers that keep us from living the life we want. The life of our dreams. And often, the bigger the dream, the bigger the barrier(s) we create.
So why do some people "get to" live where they want and the way they want? Why don't we all live like that?
This question almost always creates a defensive posturing. We often reply with thoughts like, "they don't have the responsibilities I have" or, "they have more money, or opportunity, etc". We always cite circumstance. The reason I can't do this is because of that. Our circumstances become our barrier.
We impose limits on the possibility that exists for us. In fact, we let our circumstances determine the choices we make. And in the process we actually forget that we have a choice.
When we plan and make decisions from a place of circumstance our life can feel out of control. That's because we can't control all the circumstances that happen to us. We may unexpectedly lose our job, or lose a family member. We didn't plan for this, but it happened anyway.
So you can't control your circumstance. But you can control decisions you make. And the decisions you make will create your reality. A reality that is more aligned with your dreams.
Case and point. For each of us to live we need food, shelter and connection to family or friends. And in today's day and age that basically means we need to live somewhere, make money, and provide for or share time with others.
Each of us will have other unique circumstances surrounding our lives, but the basic premise is the same. We need to meet our needs under the circumstances we are currently in.
After graduating from university I needed a job and a place to live. I chose to live in the mountains. This decision impacted the type of place I could live in and the job I could get. By choosing to live in the mountains I chose to rent for many years before being able to buy a house. And when I bought a place it was a fractional ownership. I also chose to be limited in the number of job opportunities that we're available to me. Meanwhile I watched my friends buy big homes in the suburbs and explore many career opportunities.
The funny thing was, they were often jealous of me. I walked to work and spent my leisure time playing in the Rockies, while they commuted through traffic and fought lines to buy home renovation materials.
The point isn't that one decision was better than the other. My friends are equally as happy, they just have different values than me. What makes them happy is different than what makes me happy.
The point is that you have a choice.
You have circumstances that are different than mine. You also have dreams that are different than mine. But we both have a choice. We have the ability and opportunity to make choices that bring us closer to our dreams. Circumstances will always be there, and circumstances will always change. Sometimes predictably and sometimes unpredictably. Making choices that resonate with you isn't always the easiest path to take, but by becoming concious of choice you can choose to live the life of your dreams.
We all get to live the life we want. We simply have to make a choice to live it.
So, what are your dreams? And what choices do you need to make today to get you closer to that life?
with Metta
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