I’ve noticed that even when two people live completely unrelated lifestyles, they still feel pretty much the exact same sensations as each other. I just got off the phone with a dear friend of mine and it’s so freaky how our lives, while utterly dissimilar, seem to mirror each other. It must be because we are in a similar phase in our life, “the 20-something” phase. Where we’re not quite sure exactly what we want but we’re drawn to one thing or another and are actively seeking to pursue something meaningful.
After discussing how he sees himself progressing in his career and how much he really loves it, but how he has a deep desire to get into acting- and after sharing my (very loose) plans to teach summer camps in Italy, practice yoga in India, and possibly settle in a 3rd country, all by September and with limited funds, we both found ourselves contemplating the same thing: Can we ever really have it all? Can we excel up the career ladder while developing passions which oppose it? Do we ever over-do our list of goals? Are we pushing ourselves a little too hard? Should we just focus on one thing at a time?
After a long chat, we found ourselves urging each other on to take the step, to study at acting school- why not?! To have lots of travel plans- why not?! We realized, by the fact we were earnestly impelling each other on to follow our hearts, to go to India if it’s calling you, to take a career break and delve into something new, to take a leap into the unknown (even though it’s scary), that we had kind of answered it. Yes, you can have it all. You do not live inside a box. And if we do- it’s a box with thousands of windows. Windows you can open at any time you want. You don’t have to make sure one is closed first before opening the next. It can be scary, as you need to walk away from one in order to reach the other. It’s daunting, it’s tough. You like your window, you’re good at it, you’re happy with it, it’s what you know. But think of the joy that could be gained by just taking a deep breath and going for something different, something you’ve always dreamed of, something which takes you further…
Can we ever really have it all? Absolutely. We’ve had it in us all along, we just didn’t know it.
