Life worth living

Sometimes the very thing we want is the most difficult thing to choose.

For a long time I had a vision. I dreamed of living with an Amish community in the middle of Pennsylvania for an entire year in order to learn about a different culture, and learn a little about myself as well. I thought that removing myself from the world I had considered to be normal would be one of the greatest learning experiences of my personal and professional life - plus, I was fascinated by a community that lived so simply.

I just recently recalled this vision of mine, and realized that I am in fact living the dream I had once planted for myself several years ago. One of the best aspects of Peace Corps is that it fosters personal as well as professional development, in a way that is hard to come by. For example, I have the pleasure of reading books that I had always put off, as I never before had enough time to do something that didn’t take me to the next item on my agenda. But what a pleasure it has been to read a book of my choice for a few hours in one single day. (If you have time, I would highly recommend reading Memoires of a Geisha - my favorite book so far.)

But the sad thing about dreams is that not everyone can achieve them. I mean, everyone can have a dream, but it is much more difficult for some people to achieve them than others. Unfortunately for the community I live in now, many people will not realize their distant dreams because opportunities are hard to come by. Obviously I hope to help in this effort, but realistically I know that I should be grateful for the opportunity to live one of my dreams by immersing myself in a different culture.

One of the United States’ best assets is that because of it’s innumerable resources, [many] citizens can realistically work toward a dream. This opportunity is rare and one would hope that everyone is, as a result, living as they desire. So why is it that so many people seem to be working in jobs that will provide money to achieve their dreams -- which in turn steals their time and shuts down any chance they had for a more meaningful life? There is always tomorrow, always another day to make more money, until you have spent all your time preparing for your dream and never lived as you had imagined.

In the Dominican Republic, life is slower. But at the same time, people work hard just to survive: survival is the priority. Yet somehow life here is still beautifully executed, and small moments mean more, as they rightfully should. The other day I spent the whole morning reading a book. After that, I learned how to cook rice and beans like a Dominican, and then I watched my next door neighbor prepare coffee from raw coffee beans. Last year I would have said that the day was unproductive, but now, I guess I don’t have anything to say. No comment… it was just another day in the DR, and I really enjoyed it.

So what’s in a dream? Not everyone has the opportunity to dream big, and some people spend their whole lives working for a dream that they could have chosen long ago. Who decides how life should be lived? What is the best way to spend your time?

I am proud of my ambition and hard work, but right now I am learning a lot from just sitting still. I am not sure I have done much of anything “productive” since the Christmas season started (it’s a whole month long here). But for now, I am okay with that.

So is life worth living in small moments, or should we each be chasing a dream? And if we are chasing after a dream, when do we let go of all that we have and grab it? I guess that’s up to the individual to decide.