I DREAMED A WORLD

I believe the most powerful dream I have ever had is to do a full 360 over the top of the swing set. Sure, I have had other competing aspirations—to jump to the fourth bar on the monkey bars; to travel to different countries; to go to a great college. Yet none of these dreams has held a candle to the adventure of swinging over the top of the swing set.

I can remember rushing out the big red doors of Nishuane School at recess. I had little difficulty conquering the other obstacles of the playground—merry go-round, monkey bars, jungle gym—CHILD’S PLAY. After making my rounds to the more menial amusements, recess always ended with the ultimate challenge: swing over the top. Each time I climbed into that worn black rubber seat, I knew there was a destiny waiting for me, and it was on the other side of that bar.  I’d pump with as much power as my 34 lb body could muster, each time inching just a little bit closer to my kid-dom heaven. I’d close my eyes and imagine the moment I crossed over to the other side. Sometimes I’d imagine crossing over into a parallel universe where everything was upside down. Sometimes, I’d imagine a crowd of envious onlooking 2^nd graders who had tried their whole lives to accomplish what I would accomplish in kindergarten. As the visions got more clear, my leg pump would get more pronounced. My arms would pull vigorously on the chains to help build momentum. I’d give more…and more…and more…looking up at the bar for inspiration. Just as I’d approach my life changing moment, the chain would buckle and I would jump off into the pile of sand and woodchips below–the dirt on my knees my sign of defeat.

What was so miraculous about this dream was the fact that no number of dirty knees ever discouraged me from believing that parallel universe over the top of the swing set bar actually existed and that I could, in fact, reach it. It was a dream of my heart, not my head, and nothing but my commitment could get in my way.

That belief in the impossible has fueled every dream ever worth dreaming. I’d like to think that Jackie Robinson, Gandhi, Orville and Wilbur, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa might have given it an extra leg pump on the playground. Just one ounce of childlike faith in the adventure to the impossible has led to cures to polio, the end of apartheid, the building of the Sphinx, and the discovery of continents.

Challenge: Can you believe in one impossible thing this week?  Take it on with the same reckless abandon that made recess the best time of the day and then leave a comment and share what you are daring to believe in.

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.”- Tony Robbins