When Dreams Take Flight

I’m a little embarrassed to admit this: I’m 59 and am getting ready to go on my first international trip. I received my first passport a few weeks ago. Just about everyone I know has had one for years and traveled to many countries throughout their lives.  

Over the years when conversations with friends turned to traveling and their trips to the Caribbean, South America, Africa, and Asia, I would stay silent, hoping the conversation would not turn to me so I would not have to admit I had not been much of anywhere. 

I had no real reason to feel embarrassed, of course. Things happen in every person’s life that tend to derail plans and dreams. But somehow this lack of travel and exploration got woven into my life’s story. I had begun to accept, however slowly and imperceptibly, that my life was going to remain small. 

It's an easy trap to fall into, but that doesn’t mean it’s an unavoidable one. I’ve learned this several times during my life. I was 41 when I made the bold decision to move across the country and establish myself in a city where I had no family or friends. I was 50 when I started my seminary education, which lead to my second career as a minister. 

Visualization and Affirmations

I didn’t wait for those experiences to come to me. I decided I wanted to have them and then did what was necessary to make them happen. And that, I think, is the key. In spiritual teachings, we talk a lot about setting and working toward goals. We teach that visualization is a powerful tool and it, along with affirmations—positive statements of spiritual Truth—can help elevate consciousness and help us believe in positive outcomes and in our ability to help create them.  

But those practices do something else too. They help us understand that we must do more than wait for our adventures and experiences to come to us. We must act inwardly and outwardly to create the conditions that help the good we seek manifest. At the heart of all of it is faith—the belief that our dreams can come true, and the belief that we have the power within us to make them happen. 

So what does that have to do with me taking my first international trip at my age? As I mentioned earlier, I had taken on the belief that my life was going to stay small and that exploration and adventure were for other people. And that’s what happened. 

But recently I decided I was no longer willing to settle for that. I wanted to travel, to broaden my experience of life. I believed the perfect opportunity for travel would manifest, and it did. I visualized getting my passport, boarding a plane, and landing in a new country. 

A Spiritual Being

It might not sound like much, but I’m sharing this now because I don’t think my situation is unique. Far from it. If there is something holding you back, maybe an old belief telling you you’re not deserving of realizing your dreams or that you’re not meant for the best life has to offer, it’s time to do some spiritual work. 

It's time to realign your beliefs with the truth of yourself as a spiritual being. You are blessed with tremendous power to create your experience and follow your unique path. You are meant to live a full and meaningful life. Begin by believing in yourself and in the power of your dreams. The sky’s the limit. 

This was a Daily Word editor’s letter. To subscribe to Daily Word, please visit https://shop.unityonline.org/subscribe.