Are You Ready to Start Dreaming Again?

c'mon, try it

Remember the days when we’d talk about the places where we wanted to travel, the friends we planned to see, and the new restaurants we planned to check out? That’s okay, I don’t, either. 

Pre-pandemic, I was already reevaluating the way I wanted to travel going forward. 

Not that I had done much traveling since I moved to Portugal. Other than a trip to California to see family in 2019, five days in the U.K. for a friend’s birthday, and to Porto last October when Milo decided to have his big adventure, thus forcing me to cut my long weekend to a very short one. 

With more than two years of residency under my belt (is there a belt of residency?) I thought for sure by now I would have seen much of Portugal. Portugal is a tiny country. It wouldn’t have been hard—other than the fact that I have a dog and no car. And then the damnable virus.

As I’ve mentioned before, 2020 was to be my year of travel, reimagined. Traveling slowly, taking my time and my dog when possible, and enjoying the journey as much as the destination.  

Despite the challenging logistics (+ dog, - car), I had an idea. I’d limit air travel to near nil (other than trips back to the States and a short hop or two within the E.U.). I wanted to travel by train and coach, no, not stagecoach, silly, but I might consider it… 

There are several bus lines here that go all over the country and to Spain and beyond. Some are quite comfortable and almost-luxurious. I’d link rail and coach lines to create a slow and more planet-friendly travel itinerary, seeing places outside the major airline routes. That was the plan, anyway.

But we all know the punchline to plans made for 2020. 

Awaken the Dreamer

Now, here we are, the second month of 2021 almost over (!) and, like spring awakening from her slumber, I feel a bit of the dreamer in me coming alive. Can it be? Am I really starting to make plans again? 

So far, the dreamer is only a glimmer, slipping into my thoughts and leaving as quickly as she arrives. I thought that part of me had faded away, but apparently, she was just dormant. 

Don’t worry, the critical thinker, the skeptic with her heart on her sleeve and feet planted firmly on the ground, is still here. But this encounter with the dreamer is lovely, I must admit, and a welcome addition to the collective. The dreamer in me lends an air of light and fancy, something my often serious and pensive self needs right now.  

Beyond travel, I have a little big dream that might come to fruition. If it does, you’ll be the first to know!

Talking With Other Dreamers

My friend, Andrew, and I have been chatting about daring to dream and what travel, seeing friends, and all the other life-affirming activities might look like once the confinement measures start to ease. 

I listen to him plan as he talks it out, suggesting alternate dates or Plan Bs for all the travel and living he wants to do once we can move about with more freedom.

Same with my friend, Tammy. She threatens boldly (and with love) that by 2022 we will be sipping coffee together, having our dance parties in the same room, instead of an ocean and continent away from one another, as she will be returning to Portugal by then for a visit. I guarantee we will have an epic-long hug when that happens. 

So why not invite the dreamer back in?

None of us know when this world will unclench itself so we can be in the presence of friends and family once again, but what if we all practice dreaming a bit? I know this is radically optimistic coming from me :) but if I can do it, so can you. 

What does your dream look like? Where will you go? Who will you see, and what will you do? Share in the comments section if you’d like.

Will you join me in dreaming—just a little? 

GOOD LINKS

• Fascinating! I Am a Heroin User: I Do Not Have a Drug Problem an interview with Carl Hart, neuroscientist and Ziff Professor of Psychology at Columbia University via Nautilus, a magazine that combines the sciences, culture, and philosophy.

• 101 is a damn good run. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet Who Nurtured the Beats, Dies at 101 via NY Times. 

• Behold these glorious images by photographer Maïmouna Guerresi Humanity and Nature are Interconnected via We Present

Thanks for being a dedicated reader, I appreciate you! If you’d like to support life: examined, you can buy me a coffee. See you again next week!