Dreamers Dreaming
By default, I’m doing the 1st Way to Christmas from WishlistChallenge.org: resisting Amazon. But that’s largely because I’m not really doing much within the ordinary for Christmas this year. So, what I’m intentionally focusing on is the 12th Way. I’m sharing my dreams with others. It’s much more than just a Christmas thing. It’s ongoing and it’s broad. It’s about living my values and encouraging others to exercise their agency similarly.
One of the boldest norm-shifting things I’ve done recently is become a digital nomad.
In late summer of the dumpster fire that was 2020, my wife, Sara, and I started dreaming about location independence. We had just fled Oregon because of an unlivable wildfire situation. In fleeing, we decided to reimagine our next year. Vaccines weren’t even on the horizon. Heavy COVID restrictions were still in effect. Why did we need to come back anytime soon? We didn’t. So, we went all the way over to St. Louis, where Sara has family, and stayed there for a while.
While in St. Louis, we started imagining what it would be like if we lived like that typically. What if location independence were the norm? We have friends and family flung all around the country (actually, the globe). What if we were able to pick up, move, set down, and visit with friends and family without cramping anyone’s time or space? Because we both have wanderlust or itchy feet – whatever you want to call the desire to travel and experience new places and different ways of being – we also started imagining what it would be like if we just lived wherever we wanted (and could financially afford for however long we’re legally allowed).
We started talking about our ideas with Sara’s parents then other family, friends, friends of family and friends, coaches, mentors, acquaintances, etc. Those conversations helped shape the images in our heads and pointed us toward resources that structured the dream into a plan for becoming digital nomads. I also shared the dream with my boss, which is a risky move. Although a lot of office jobs can feasibly be done from pretty much anywhere, for a lot of structural and personal reasons, true work-from-anywhere situations are still the exception, not the norm. But different risks apply to not sharing and being honest is how I roll. Thankfully, at my day job, there aren't policies that tie workers to specific physical locations and my boss and her bosses were open to pushing boundaries.
So, two months ago, Sara and I sold about 90% of our stuff; stashed a few things in friends’ houses; loaded up the rest in a check-in case, a carry-on case, and a backpack each; and took off. We’re in Medellín, Columbia now. Next stop TBD. Quite literally, not at all euphemistically or sarcastically, living our dream.
I am admittedly exercising a lot of privilege in this venture. I’m also exercising a lot of creativity, problem-solving, and persistence. I’m exercising agency over things I can control. Your dream doesn’t have to look like mine. It also doesn’t have to be kept in a perpetually unrealized state by current circumstances. If you’re living your dream, great! If not, who can you talk to about your dream? What resources can you lean on to help you shape it into a reality? No one gets there alone. It's time to talk to each other about our dreams. That's how things get done - together.
Now it's your turn. I challenge you to reimagine your wishlist. Here's an unmarked Wishlist Challenge card. Mark it up!
