Thrive

Someone told me last month, thirty-five thousand miles above the ground, that life is about more than survival. We are meant to thrive. He said this, I think, because many of us find it much more comfortable to live life complacently, and even aimlessly. We'd rather be invisible to others and not face the specter of failure because doing so would prove we are a disappointment.

This leads inevitably to a life marked more by survival than passion. We can't think much about living in unreserved boldness as we pursue our dreams-- if we have them-- because we are thinking instead of how to glean what we can from what we feel life has handed to us. It is this attitude, this passiveness about life that leaves us thinking ourselves fortunate that we are not worse off.

Even more, our dreams say something about us. Henry David Thoreau wrote that "dreams are the touchstone of our character." What we hope for most expresses the things we value, and the things we value often guide our behavior. It is easy, then, to question your dreams, and as a result, we pit the acting out of those dreams against remaining true to conventional wisdom.

I do believe it is necessary to consider why you would pursue a dream, and more specifically, if realizing that dream has a cost too high especially for those you love. I am also persuaded, though, that sitting idly out of fear while you allow opportunities to pass leads often to regret. Wisdom should always be the arbiter of dreams, as wisdom is the arbiter of so much else in life; and wisdom, the Scriptures say, is guided by a purity found only through righteousness: "[W]isdom that comes from the Father," says James, "is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." I want my dreams, like my actions, to say something sweet about my character.