Meet Cali.

She stood cutting strawberries at the far end of that most adorable and welcoming crepe shop. After I spoke with Carlo, I waved and said good-bye to Cali at the back. But when she began engaging me in conversation, that’s when I knew I needed to stick around. This was one lovely and interesting woman.

I asked Cali one question. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

This was her response.

Cali admitted. “I like the places that I work.” Cali works at the crepe shop, and she also runs a bike shop. The bike shop is “very seasonal.” In the winter, business gets slow, so she works other places.

If Cali didn’t have to worry about money at all, she’d “work to make it so other people weren’t suffering.” She’d “travel, but would still want to have some roots in life.”

And Cali made a good point. You’d probably “still worry about something” even if you had everything you need. Hmmm…I bet that’s true. We’re all a little prone to worry about something, aren’t we?

So what can we learn from Cali?

Cali was awesome. She was super warm, authentic and down to earth. We engaged with ease. No pretenses about this girl, that’s for sure.

I wonder. What if every human being was 100% authentic at all times? If everyone around us was living authentically, wouldn’t we be more inspired to live authentically as well? And if everyone around us was living authentically, don’t you think more people might be inclined to live out their dreams? Because life would no longer be about impressing and meeting the world’s expectations, but about seeking, finding and living out your purpose within the greater body of humanity.

So you can live a life built to impress.

Or you can live a life designed to inspire, equip and complement.

You decide.

Be a second-rate version of yourself?

Or be yourself?

You decide.

Live someone else’s dream for you?

Or live your dream for you, God’s dream for you?

You decide.

Oh, yeah. I can’t forget Cali’s profound statements, that she’d “work to make it so other people weren’t suffering,” and that she actually “likes the places she works.”

Amazing. Bold. Beautiful.

We might not have all the time or money in the world, but what if we all worked, even just a little every day, to make it so other people didn’t have to suffer as much? What kind of world would we live in then? And what if we all decided to do work we really like or really love? What kind of world would we live in then?

So tell me….what speaks to you most about Cali’s story? There are several great discussions that could be had from Cali’s response to my question. What’s the greatest take away for you?

 

 

 

*This post is a part of a month-long 31 Days series titled Dreams from the Street. If you’d like to read more from my series, click here and you’ll be brought to the series landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked! You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson! I’m so glad you stopped by. Make yourself comfortable and take a peek around the place. You’re welcome back anytime.

Meet Carlo.

I met him in a tiny crepe shop downtown Minneapolis. It was one of the warmest, most welcoming and chilled-out places I’ve been in a long time.

I asked Carlo one question. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

This was his response.

“I’d enjoy every day to the fullest.”

He spread, then flipped the crepes on the griddle.

After some thought and a little discussion, Carlo added “I’d be happy.”

So what can we learn from Carlo?

Carlo understood that my hypothetical question is a trick question. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

Does not worrying about money mean you’d have all the money in the world? (In that case, you’d hypothetically be freed to buy anything and everything you ever wanted.)

Or does not worrying about money mean that money wouldn’t matter anymore, that it wouldn’t carry currency or weight in your life at all? (In that case, you’d hypothetically be freed to do and be whatever you wish.)

I prefer the latter. When I conceived this series, I really didn’t want to know all the things people would buy if they had unlimited dollars. I wanted to know what they would do, or who they’d want to be if they didn’t have to worry about money.

I guess we’ll leave the ultimate interpretation of this question to philosophy class, but I think Carlo was on to something. If we weren’t so driven by money, more of us would live our lives to the fullest.

We’d take in the day.

We’d do what we love.

We’d love more richly.

We’d sigh in relief and peace.

And we’d be free to just be who we were meant to be.

So here’s my question. Obviously, money is here to stay. So how can we learn to enjoy our lives to the fullest, anyway? How can we make the dreams of our heart come true, anyway? If you have thoughts, I’d love to chat.

 

 

 

*This post is a part of a month-long 31 Days series titled Dreams from the Street. If you’d like to read more from my series, click here and you’ll be brought to the series landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked! You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson! I’m so glad you stopped by. Make yourself comfortable and take a peek around the place. You’re welcome back anytime.

Meet Emily.

As I passed the storefront, I saw her inside bagging caramel corn. The scene was quaint. I entered without hesitation.

I asked Emily one question. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

This was her response.

“I’d travel everywhere” and “would do volunteer work with animals.”

I asked Emily if there was anything else she’d do, anything else she’d like to add.

“Nope, that’s it!” she said.

So what can we learn from Emily?

When it comes to dreaming, when it comes to living and loving life, simple works.

 

 

 

*This post is a part of a month-long 31 Days series titled Dreams from the Street. If you’d like to read more from my series, click here and you’ll be brought to the series landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked! You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson! I’m so glad you stopped by. Make yourself comfortable and take a peek around the place. You’re welcome back anytime.

I never got her name and I didn’t get her picture. But that doesn’t mean she’s any less important.  

As I walked down the street in downtown Minneapolis, I noticed her coming towards me on the sidewalk. She wore a bright colored jersey coat with a number on the front. She carried nothing. And she was walking fairly fast, with somewhat of an urgency.

God prompted quickly – approach this woman.

The question of the month flashed through my mind.“If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

As quick as I recalled the question, I knew, without a doubt, that it wouldn’t be appropriate for this woman. So I’d decided I wasn’t going to stop her for an interview.

But there was good reason I’d been prompted to approach this woman.

Before I knew it, SHE was approaching ME.

She asked, with all sincerity and with all that was in her, “Ma’am, I’m really hungry and I’m really sick. I don’t have any money and I really need to get some food in me, now.”

Listen, people. I’m cautious. And I’m not ignorant of all the possible realities.

I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard the stories of fakes and fraudulents on the street begging for money when in reality they’re raking in thousands. I’ve heard about people who beg and then go spend the money on drugs and alcohol. 

And I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen what wasted looks like. I’ve seen what high looks like. I’ve seen what overdose looks like. I’ve seen what the worst of mental illness looks like. I’ve seen. it all.

And let me just say? This woman was none of those things.

This woman was hungry.

This woman was weak.

And this woman was sick. Physically sick.

There was an urgency about her, a desperation that I couldn’t ignore.

The woman shared that she had diabetes and was out of insulin. So not only was she hungry, but she was feeling very ill, too.

I knew she was telling the truth. This wasn’t a lie. So I dug in my wallet, grabbed a $5 bill and gave it to her so she could get some food. She thanked me profusely, gave me a hug, said “God bless you,” and took a few steps in the other direction as if she was going on her way.

Just as she’d taken a few steps in the other direction. And just as I was verifying…

“Do you need any help? Are you going to be able to get some food nearby? Do you need help getting your medicine?”

She turned her back to me, bent her head down, and hung her head over a roped off area where we’d been standing. She was quite literally spitting up a little bit because she was so sick. And she appeared to be sweating. This was not a well woman.

“Are you okay? Is there anything else I can do to help?” I said, as I broke out another $3 from my wallet. Common sense told me this woman needed food NOW and $5 wasn’t going about to cut it in downtown Minneapolis.

I passed her the extra $3 in a hurry, feeling like these $8 dollars were the least of the help she needed in that moment, feeling like there was something else I should be doing for this woman. But she assured me she was on her way RIGHT NOW to get some insulin.

This was all so urgent, and all so surreal.

She hugged me again (this time even longer) and said “God bless you” again, as we parted ways.

So what can we learn from this woman?

Wow. Where to start.

Can I say that sometimes we just need to follow our gut instincts? I think God placed those instincts, those natural reactions, in us for a reason. And in this case, I needed to know whether I should protect myself from a potentially harmful situation, or whether I should help the woman in need.

My initial gut instinct was to approach the woman. My instinct told me that my question would be inappropriate for her. Right again. My instinct told me this woman was the real deal, that she was really hungry and really sick. And my instinct told me this woman was genuinely grateful for my help because of the way she hugged me not once, but twice, and the way she said “God bless you” not once, but twice. There was an urgency and a sincerity I sensed that couldn’t be contrived.

Some time later, after we’d parted ways, I started doubting my response. I wondered if I’d just been played. And I had to decide that I hadn’t been played. I had to decide this was real. This was reality. In my face. As in, respond to this need NOW or NEVER. So I responded.

This woman brought up vivid memories of my time in Haiti, particularly the whole day I spent with our two sponsored children. I remembered how I quickly learned that I had to get them food FIRST, before we could do anything else. Because when you’re really hungry, and in this woman’s case, when you’re really hungry AND sick, you can’t think of anything else except eating and getting well.

So what would this woman do if she didn’t have to worry about money? The question was completely irrelevant at that point. She just needed to get some food in her and get well. All dreaming was down the tubes. This was a matter of survival.

So I challenge you, is there someone in your life who’s in survival mode, someone who’s completely UNABLE to dream because they’re merely surviving this day? What are some ways you could send them a lifeline?

 

 

 

*This post is a part of a month-long 31 Days series titled Dreams from the Street. If you’d like to read more from my series, click here and you’ll be brought to the series landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked! You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson! I’m so glad you stopped by. Make yourself comfortable and take a peek around the place. You’re welcome back anytime.

Meet Lin.

I met her at an outdoor pumpkin and produce stand.

I asked Lin one question. “If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do with your life?”

This was her response.

“I’d be writing in my garden.”

Lin shared that she writes a lot of poetry. When she was in college, some of her writing was even published. Lin also has an interest in guitar. So when her kids got older, she started writing songs again and made a CD.

Lin is “more inspired in nature,” so she’s been intentional about creating beautiful spaces for reflection in her gardens at home. She created a meditation area with a bench in her garden where she spends time relaxing and writing. And a while back, when there was major construction being done in their neighborhood, they gathered rocks that had been dug up and included them in their landscape.

So what can we learn from Lin?

What’s clear about Lin’s story is that she’s been intentional. She’s created space in her life for beauty and the pursuit of her dreams.

I wonder, what if Lin hadn’t written that poetry back in college? What if Lin hadn’t written those songs or made that CD? What if Lin hadn’t designed and cared for the beautiful gardens at her home? I have to believe Lin’s life would’ve been a little less joyful had she not pursued those passions along the way.

Perhaps you’re someone who dreams a lot but never takes action. Take Lin’s lead and follow your heart, little bits at a time. Those little bits will add up to a lifetime of dream catching.

And let me add one more thing, because I think Lin’s on to something. What if life isn’t so much about pursuing one gigantic dream or one specific path, but saying yes to a thousand little dreams that add up to one beautiful life? Lin hasn’t done just one thing, but when you look back at the whole of her life, the big picture of little things added up makes complete sense. The little dreams fit together as Lin’s story, Lin’s life.

There’s wisdom to be found from those who have blazed paths before us.

So let’s be intentional.

Create space for what you love.

Let’s be purposeful.

Take one step, then another, and another.

Let’s be realistic.

Life isn’t a one-shot gig, but rather, unfolds in seasons. Perhaps not now will become yes, later.

Let’s be authentic.

Do the things that resonate most deeply with your heart and soul. And you can’t go wrong.

So tell me, how are you being intentional about creating space for your dreams? 

 

 

 

*This post is a part of a month-long 31 Days series titled Dreams from the Street. If you’d like to read more from my series, click here and you’ll be brought to the series landing page where all 31 posts are listed and linked! You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/AmyBPederson where I’ll tweet links to all 31 posts using hashtag #write31days, and I’d LOVE to connect on Facebook at facebook.com/AmyBPederson! I’m so glad you stopped by. Make yourself comfortable and take a peek around the place. You’re welcome back anytime.