She Loves Him No Matter What

I’m watching The Rookie for at least the 20th time. We’re big into sports movies in my house. Well sports and action movies: Star Wars, the Die Hard series, Indiana Jones, including the fourth, and Harry Potter – though the books are better. And with two boys under 21, we regularly watch Remember the Titans, Miracle and Glory Road among others though I will pay homage to the best of the best -- Bull Durham, Rudy, Rocky, The Natural and Field of Dreams are all-time favorites.

Right now the scene is with Rachael Griffiths, who plays the wife to Dennis Quaid’s Jim Morris character – the aging pitcher who gets a second chance at major league fame – and I’m thinking the way she looks at him despite the fear she feels with him pursuing his dream is what great stories are made of. She loves her man regardless of whether he’s a teacher/high school baseball coach or major league ball player and because she loves him she goes along with him on his journey to pursue his dream.

There is something incredibly compelling about following dreams…but their risky. Dangerous. Fools errands. And following one’s dreams is a very private and personal thing. It’s about mustering up all the courage you have just to say your dream out loud. For me it’s “I want to publish a novel.” Then there’s the matter of putting that spoken thought into action and then taking that one leap of faith to set you on the road. The fear is great. For me, that fear is public humiliation. Yet, I feel the fear and do it anyway.

And taking that first step, once the fear is gone, is exhilarating. But that’s only the beginning because once the exhilaration ebbs, what’s left is you alone pursuing your dream. Or rather me. Alone. Dug in and determined. And yet, that’s exactly where all the satisfaction lies. In the stubbornness. In the commitment. In the pain. And that’s only the physical side. On an emotional level, there’s a fear of losing it all. On one side if you don’t act, you could lose your dream and on the other side is if you do act, you could lose what you already have and as we get older the list of all that is can be quite long. A spouse, children, extended family, a home, community or lifestyle you either love or have become accustomed to.

People always ask me why I chose Navy SEALs for my hero worship. And besides the obvious hottie factor, I think the simple fact is that each one of them has pursued a dream and made it come true. It wasn’t handed to them. Each man had to dig down deep and pull through a series of events that were the hardest thing they ever had to do. Each man had to say to himself, I’m not going to give up. Ever. And that I admire. That I want to emulate. That, I want to accomplish.

As I write this, I click over to my email to get some distance before posting and in my quote of the day I find this:

"There are no such things as limits to growth, because there are no limits to the human capacity for intelligence, imagination, and wonder." -- Ronald Reagan.

Despite my dislike for Reagan as President, the guy knew how to dream.

So as I finish watching this movie I’m reminded of my dream. And as I go about pursuing it, I want to acknowledge all of those affected by it and say thank you.