Trash Can Dreams
Yesterday was the Sunday long walk with a couple friends. Four or five miles in, we took a break to get some water and a quick snack: bananas.
There were no garbage cans in the immediate area, so we carried the banana peels with us. As we walked, I scoped out the path ahead for a can, spotting one a in the distance. I pointed to it like we'd been lost at sea and I was the one first spotting land.
One of my friends laughed because there was a garbage can right in front of me.
I totally overlooked it.
We all thought it was funny, tossed the banana peels, and continued on our way.
* * *
I thought about those damn gargbage cans all day yesterday, and into this morning. I think I even dreamed about them last night!
Why would such a strange thing stick with me?
Because I sometimes think I miss the stuff right in front of me as I look ahead.
I've always dreamed big. Since childhood, I figured if you're going to shoot for something, go large and if you miss, you're still well ahead of mediocrity.
Lately, though, I think I've lost out on a lot by not noticing what's right in front of me. More and more, I wonder if I've been unwise dreaming big.
Those who know me well know that's not the kind of thing I'd say, even in jest.
Lately, though, my head's been swimming in all kinds of strange thoughts.
And for 24 hours, two garbage cans were all I thought about.
Visiting my mom yesterday, I was quiet. I told darthcynthia and my mom I was tired. I was sleepy, sure, but I was really lost in thought.
About two friggin' garbage cans!
All morning at work, I thought about how I missed the can right in front of me. All morning long, I thought about how I often miss what's right in front of me--or at least feel that way. I know it sounds stupid, but it really got to me on so many levels. To the point I questioned my big goals and dreams.
While thinking about all this kind of crap, one of my co-workers sent e-mail to me and my other walking friend. It was like he was reading my mind--he had no idea what I was thinking. He said he found a quote explaining why I noticed the can in the distance and not the one right in front of me:
"It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it."
- Arnold Toynbee
Just like that, I stopped kicking myself for noticing the garbage can farther ahead of the one right in front of me. I notice the bigger, more ambitious things in the distance instead of the easy route right in front of me.
I may never hit the big dreams I have for myself, but in shooting for something more ambitious, I have better odds of being happy than if I put everything in the mediocre garbage can right in front of me.
There were no garbage cans in the immediate area, so we carried the banana peels with us. As we walked, I scoped out the path ahead for a can, spotting one a in the distance. I pointed to it like we'd been lost at sea and I was the one first spotting land.
One of my friends laughed because there was a garbage can right in front of me.
I totally overlooked it.
We all thought it was funny, tossed the banana peels, and continued on our way.
* * *
I thought about those damn gargbage cans all day yesterday, and into this morning. I think I even dreamed about them last night!
Why would such a strange thing stick with me?
Because I sometimes think I miss the stuff right in front of me as I look ahead.
I've always dreamed big. Since childhood, I figured if you're going to shoot for something, go large and if you miss, you're still well ahead of mediocrity.
Lately, though, I think I've lost out on a lot by not noticing what's right in front of me. More and more, I wonder if I've been unwise dreaming big.
Those who know me well know that's not the kind of thing I'd say, even in jest.
Lately, though, my head's been swimming in all kinds of strange thoughts.
And for 24 hours, two garbage cans were all I thought about.
Visiting my mom yesterday, I was quiet. I told darthcynthia and my mom I was tired. I was sleepy, sure, but I was really lost in thought.
About two friggin' garbage cans!
All morning at work, I thought about how I missed the can right in front of me. All morning long, I thought about how I often miss what's right in front of me--or at least feel that way. I know it sounds stupid, but it really got to me on so many levels. To the point I questioned my big goals and dreams.
While thinking about all this kind of crap, one of my co-workers sent e-mail to me and my other walking friend. It was like he was reading my mind--he had no idea what I was thinking. He said he found a quote explaining why I noticed the can in the distance and not the one right in front of me:
"It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it."
- Arnold Toynbee
Just like that, I stopped kicking myself for noticing the garbage can farther ahead of the one right in front of me. I notice the bigger, more ambitious things in the distance instead of the easy route right in front of me.
I may never hit the big dreams I have for myself, but in shooting for something more ambitious, I have better odds of being happy than if I put everything in the mediocre garbage can right in front of me.