The Edge (Dream) Pt. 1

I have this wonderful memory as a child. I grew up in San Clemente, California and every time it would rain we would drive to the pier at night and begin our adventure. My mother and I would skip down the pier singing the theme song to the "Wizard of Oz!" We would skip, laugh and sing at the top of lungs while every article of clothing was being drenched by each drop.

This memory holds so much more than laughter,it holds valuable knowledge that I did not recognize until I was an adult. We would skip and sing until we would reach the end. Once we would arrive at the end of the pier we would look out into the dark abyss. You could hear the waves crashing, you could smell the salt water and taste the rain drops on your lips. The whole experience was exhilarating. Each time we would reach the end of the pier there was this amazing disappointment that it had come to an end. I longed for that moment to continue. I wanted to go further, I wished that I could step right off the end of the pier and magically it would keep going.

When we approached the end my mother would grab me by the hand and pull me close to the edge and say, "Elizabeth you can be anything you can possibly dream of!" I used to love those words! I knew what she was going to say each time, but it inspired me as a young child, but I never truly understood what she meant until later in my life.

The words were not about just picking out what I would become as an adult. That statement held so much more truth. That statement was about dreaming! In order to achieve you must see yourself in that place before it's fruition. Dreams are visual; they evoke emotion, commitment and longing.

When standing at the edge of a pier people are confronted with two options. One, they can turn around and go back because the pier came to the end. When these types of people look out into the distance they only see black. If all you see at the end of the pier is the option to turn around, you will never live out your full potential. Life doesn't always hold disappointment and failure. The second option is to look beyond the black. You can not see the ocean, but you know that it exists! It is time to look past the end and embrace what is beyond. The ocean continues on forever and it is filled with wonder. The ocean is even filled with things that haven't been discovered. It's time to look past what your natural eyes can see. Do not let life slip between your fingers because you are afraid to risk the unknown.

Grab a hold of that dream and begin to live it out. Look pass the edges of the pier, look into the distance and see the future waiting for you. It's time to dream again and stop surrendering your life to mediocrity!