Why we chose to live a dream life?

Prior to our trip we were constantly asked about the exact plans of our trip. We have no plan! What we have is an approximate itinerary .. something like: “12 months North America (USA, Mexico) and 12 months Central and South America” . We like to be flexible to adjust our trip due to weather conditions, mood or something else. We live without a watch and sleep, eat and live according to our needs and not according to a predetermined agenda. We stay longer where we like. We experience things and attractions which find us or we just “stumble” over something nice. Our children have no expectations and do things exactly as they come and we parents also try to live this “way of life”. We have no plan but we have a great common goal: “Discover the world with the kids” or a little bit more specific: As parents, we want to establish and participate during a wonderful childhood of your kids. And we want to share our greatest passion with the kids: Travel around the world!

A big inspiration was to shape a life according to our expectations, and not according to the ideas of others was the book of an Australian palliative nurse Bronnie Ware. She has accompanied many people in the last weeks of there life. During the numerous and extensive discussions Bronnie Ware learned a lot from this people at the last stage of life. This knowledge and experience has Bronnie summarized in a book The top five regrets of the Dying. More sex, a Porsche Cayenne or bungee jumping were not mentioned. Bronnie writes about the remarkable clarity people have at the end of their lives and what we can learn from their wisdom. When they were asked what they most regret or what they would like done differently, some themes emerged over and over again on.

  1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
    This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
  2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
    This came from every male patient that she nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men she nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
  3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
    Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
  4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
    Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
  5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
    This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

Now up to you

  • Life is a choice.
  • It is YOUR life.
  • Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
2016-11-07T05:08:51+01:00