In the grand scheme of things, my grand schemes seem fairly insignificant.
In a global sense it's easy to feel as if my life counts for nothing, or at
most, counts for little.
I've had several earnest people tell me in no uncertain terms that I
was wasting my life as I sailed around the world on my yacht, and
I can understand why they felt that way. Those people thought I was on
a prolonged vacation, and they didn't understand that I was making a life
and doing things that were important to me. They couldn't see that I
was giving my children a multicultural experience that made them into
citizens of the world. We didn't just sail around the world, WE
SAILED AROUND THE WORLD AS A FAMILY . In the age of single parent
families we were doing things the old fashioned way - we were a real deal
family unit in which every person on board had responsibilities that
contributed to a safe voyage. My children survived without cell phones
and a dreaded peer group to complicate their lives, and they grew up to be
good citizens of the world who actually cared about other people - even
people from the third world.
During that eleven year voyage, I maintained the yacht, wrote five books,
started three web sites, and paid for my children's college education.
There weren't enough hours in a day to do all the important things that
demanded my attention. Now that I have sailed around the world, I can
finally take a real vacation from all of that work.
A long time ago I learned that what other people think
of me is none of my business, and I focused on doing what was important to
me. Life is an inside job that works best when I start from the inside
and work my way out. When someone tells me that I shouldn't be doing
things that are important to me, and that I'm wasting my life, they are
really saying that my dreams don't count in their scheme of things. My
dreams aren't important, and instead, I should live dreams that make sense to
them. These people are Outside-Inners because they are taking their
outside dreams and trying to cram them down my throat, and that doesn't work. It's the recipe for anger and frustration, and is a terrible way
to make a life.
In the grand scheme of things, my grand schemes are supremely important to
me and to me alone. I have a choice. I can either live my dreams,
not worrying about what other people think, or I can forget my dreams, and
let them wither. If I do that, my spirit will wither as well. Joy will no longer spring up in my heart,
and each step I take will echo the dull thud of dread I feel in my heart
that results from not living my dreams.
The handwriting is on the wall, and the message is clear. There is
simply nothing more important than living my dreams. Even
if I don't rock the world, I can still rock my world and that's what
counts.
Someone much smarter than me said, "What you do isn't important, but it's
important that you do it." Those words have the ring of truth, and you
can build your life on them. So fire up your dream machine and have a few grand schemes
of your own, because that's why you're here on planet earth. God gave
you the capacity to dream, and He gave you a lifetime to make those dreams
come true.
Please excuse me. I must go now because it's time to work on my grand
schemes.
