Thankfulness: The Game-Changer

Typically, at Thanksgiving time, I post a reflection called "Thankfulness: The Game-Changer." As I reflected on a potential post, I wondered, "What has changed this year? Why has thankfulness been a game-changer in my life this year?" If there’s one truth that sticks out above the surface of life’s daily current, one thing that leads me to take a pause out of going with the flow, it’s this: I’m thankful I get to be in process. For most of us, our dream journey is not about dreaming it one night and doing it the next day. Well, occasionally it might be, but normally that means the dream is too small. Yes, dreams are about the long haul.

Maybe you can chalk it up to youthful exuberance. Maybe it’s simply a mark of dreamers, but for almost as long as I can remember, I have battled guilt, shame and doubt. I should be doing more, I should be more in pursuit of my dreams. As the founder of Sam’s Dream Blog, I should be doing big, earth-shaking stuff on a daily basis, right? Well, without meaning to get in the way of people who are accomplishing dream after dream right now, I am reminded of an insight I’ve heard a few times in this Facebook age: What you see on social media are people’s highlight reels. You don’t see the times when those same people are in the dark, waiting for the next movie to roll. The reality might be closer to what Will Leitch said on SDB: "There’s no point where you hit a finish line. That’s something I didn’t realize when I was 25 or 26. I always thought I’d hit a point where I made it. You never hit it."

Dreams, then, are often about the process of who you are becoming in pursuit of a goal. During that process, we encounter others who are on their dream journeys. We help and encourage them and vice versa. We learn that we are not meant to do this alone. No doubt you have gathered tools and wisdom along the way that are meant to be passed on to others, and they have tools meant for you. What’s more, we need people to ensure we have not lost focus. At one time, an idea leapt in you. What was it, and why did it matter to you?

Howard Thurman had this to say about the process of becoming: "Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

So again, what’s your dream? What makes you come alive? What are you thankful on your dream journey?