As most of my friends know (and my blog followers have probably figured out) I’m a fan of quotes. A friend of mine (and also a very smart clogging student) recently posted this Loren Cunningham quote on Facebook: “Young people do the impossible before they find out it’s impossible - that's why God uses them so often.” So when, where, and why do we grow out of the belief that our biggest goals and dreams are possible?
I’ll admit I’ve thought a few things in my life would never happen. I always wanted to go to Europe but to have the money to travel around the world and visit one European destination was something I figured I wouldn’t experience until I was at least 40 and had a stronger financial grounds. (Don’t ask me why I think 40 is the magic age…) 
But just a few short weeks ago at the age of 27, I found myself marveling at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, taking a gondola ride in Venice, Italy, hiking to a ancient fortress in the fjords of Kotor, Montenegro, and posing for a picture at the Pompeii ruins with Mt. Vesuvius in the background (photo to the right.) In all, I visited five European countries. To think about it today, it feels like I’m remembering a dream. (My next goal is Ireland.)
When I told my younger cloggers I would be gone for a couple weeks because I would be in Europe, they excitedly rushed up to me and asked where in Europe I was traveling and if I was going to see “that leaning tower.” I laughed and told them I didn’t know exactly where I was going to be able to go, but the leaning tower was on my list of things to see. Then one little girl piped up and said “I’m going to see that one day.”
Turn the page to an adult conversation – would most adults have the same definitive attitude as my younger junior clogger did? That this is something they will see one day? Some adults may say they wish they could go see the Eiffel Tower, but they inevitably find an excuse in one way or another as to why they can’t go - that it’s impossible.
I guess I have not grown-up completely because I don’t believe anything is impossible. Again I’ll admit that I had my doubts, but I knew if the right chance and opportunity presented itself then I would indeed get to taste pizza and lasagna in the country in which it was invented.
But too often I believe adults dismiss possibilities before they even have a chance to become reality. Is it so crazy to believe you could quit the awful day job you hate to create a successful small business doing something you love? Is it so crazy to believe you could actually enjoy a sunset in the French Riviera (even though it may not be on a multi-million dollar yacht) just like the millionaires who frequently vacation there? Is it crazy to believe that you could become a singer or an actress or a dancer the way you always dreamed you would when you were a child?
To say that something is impossible or simply can’t happen is only living life halfway. I’m sure I’ve said this in past posts, and I’m sure I’ll say it in many future posts, but we only get one life to live. Don’t let it pass you by. Seize the day. Grab life by the horns. And don’t be afraid of possibility and dreams becoming reality. After all, where’s the fun in not pushing the boundaries?
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