I should preface this by making it clear that I’m not suggesting letting go of having dreams and aspirations, but rather the idea that there is A dream that needs to come true.

For the better part of the last 20 years, I have been fighting for my dream of being a teacher. I’ve been in and out of the system as circumstances have pushed and pulled me along in myriad directions. I always returned because I was called to it. Three years ago, I believed I had finally gotten my “dream job”. Now as I am preparing to leave it, I’ve had to do a lot of soul-searching about what it is I believe about all of this.

Was it a dream job? Yes. Absolutely. I could not have worked in a better place with better people. I have had phenomenal students, some of whom I hope to keep in touch with for years to come and watch them grow and achieve magnificent things- even if that is simply contentment with their lives. I feel valued, respected, and accomplished. As far as workplaces go, I couldn’t ask for much better.

But was it THE dream job? No. It hasn’t been perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve had extremely hard days and troubling moments throughout these years. I work in a flawed system that needs a complete revamping to say the least, and in so many ways, it continues to move in the wrong direction. And the very fact that I now need to move on gives me my answer.

However, this recognition that it isn’t THE dream job in no way takes away from the overall incredible experience I’ve had. It just reminds me that we change. Who I am and what I need now is different than it was three years ago. My love for what I do hasn’t changed, but other things have.

I no longer believe that there is one single dream in any realm:

No dream home, no dream place, no dream job, no dream partner, etc.

And I think we need to stop putting so much pressure on things. There are so many things that could fit our needs in so many different ways. By not attaching to the one– we may discover a better other. Stay open to all possibilities, remembering that many roads can lead us to the same destination.

The real dream is peace of mind. Knowing that at any given time I am exactly where I’m supposed to be because I trusted myself and did whatever I needed to do to best take care of myself.

Dreams change. Goals change. Needs change. Our inner peace shouldn’t. When we attach to THE dream, we risk being out of alignment and losing our peace in order to hold onto it. That’s how dreams quickly become nightmares.

When reduced to the moment we are in, things are perfect and peaceful. If that can be the dream, the rest is just details.