Post #17 Dare to Dream

Can you we still dream?

I’ve been working with a potential new partner from the west coast, and I’ve had to

challenge myself.

To dream.

She’s liked the things she has read on this blog; she likes what she has read on my website, CreativeSeniorSolutions.com about new ways of living as we age and how Baby Boomers are going to want new models of care as we begin to need it.

She has basically said to me, “show me the project,” as I’m asking her to show me the money.

And I have to admit, I’m a little stuck.

I’m trying to strike that balance between being practical, doing what I have done many times before - showing someone fairly traditional senior living properties which we could purchase at a low price and… dreaming about a more idyllic setting, the senior community I’ve always wanted to build, an unproven concept that seems so right, at least in my mind.

…a place where people of all ages are living; a place where older people are still living their lives but with additional support so they can stay independent for as long as possible; a place where older people are mentoring and interacting with younger people; where caregivers are respected and using the position as a stepping stone to a professional health care career; where children are running around and we can observe the joy in their faces; where families of seniors with money and time interact with caregivers and have a mutual relationship with them, helping them out with the resources and connections they have and the caregivers don’t; a place that isn’t a senior community – that’s just a community, where people of all ages and walks of life are just living their lives, doing the best they can, trying to help each other and eek out some joy in this life.

My father-in-law, Dave, an artist and businessman, and my mentor who passed away over twenty years ago used to say,

“keep your head in the clouds, and your feet on the ground, but it’s a long stretch.”

It sure is.

It’s tough when you are right at the precipice; when you are right at that point - in your life, in a project - where you either have to “go for it,” knowing there is risk, with the possibility of great reward, but also the possibility of failure; or playing it a little safe; greatly increasing your odds of success, but severely decreasing your odds of doing something great.

It’s romantic and there is an American pride and ethos of being entrepreneurial and risk- taking that is unique on this planet. Through travel over the years, I learned that the American trait of breaking the mold and starting something new and different is not nearly as celebrated around the world as it is here in the good ol’ US of A. Most people and societies like to stay in their lane. It is what has made us special these last two hundred and fifty years, probably because the people who came here from all over the globe were risk-takers themselves – most likely they had a little ADHD in them – and that DNA has manifested into making America the beacon it is today (current events aside).

I’ve generally been on the side of taking those risks in my life. Most of the time it has worked out, but sometimes it hasn’t. Upon reflection, when it has worked out, while there appeared to be risk, I didn’t have an internal conflict about it. I knew, deep in my bones, it was the right thing to do.

But as I get older, as we get older, those decisions get tougher. We build a groove for ourselves in life and especially for us Boomers now, admittedly being on the downside of the slope of life, in our 60’s and 70’s. It seems harder to remove ourselves from some smoother sailing to make those bigger, maybe riskier decisions.

It’s hard being right at that precipice.

Do we keep dreaming?

How about you? Are you still dreaming? For you younger boomers (who can still hike) are you still thinking about that trip to South America, Africa or New Guinea that you’ve always wanted to take? If you have a few dollars, are you still thinking about a business you always wanted to open, that cool gift shop with items from around the world or a restaurant where you would be the friendly owner that becomes a gathering spot for the community?

For many of us, finances and health issues have now precluded us from dreaming some of those bigger dreams. As my wise, psychotherapist wife keeps telling me, one of the goals of aging is to transform your dreams into the stage of life we currently are at. But there still are risks involved. Maybe you’ve thought about learning to swim after all these years, or deciding to finally take some piano lessons. Maybe you’ve thought of taking up pickleball or joining a writing group?

It can be scary getting out of our comfort zone.

I read once that you haven’t really lived if you are too afraid to make a fool out of yourself. What is the worst thing that can happen? You fail. Then you learn. But there could be pain. It could hurt. I know. I’ve made a fool out of myself more than a few times.

Or for the purpose of this blog, what is your dream for getting older? What would be the ideal situation for you as you live into your 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or beyond? If you really thought about it, and spent some time contemplating the ideal situation for yourself and for others, not constrained by the current systems out there now, what would it look like?

I’d really like to know.

That would help me as I contemplate jumping off that cliff, again.

Do you dare to dream? Do I dare to dream?