Palm trees, train rides, and destinations and travel arrangements that have nothing to do with either of them.

I've been marathon watching all of the Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries lately.  It's astonishing how many quotes from them I hold dear to my heart.  How often I think of those quotes is more than I would care to admit.  And it isn't simply because I am watching them all again.

I've been thinking about my dreams.  As I've had setbacks to my main dream/goal, when I think of Hugh Collins' quote from the show "Dreams are for dreamers, Dottie.  And my eyes are wide open now." it puts me in mind of how we all sometimes feel when we have had plans/goals/dreams derailed. 

I know that sometimes it feels like the entire train has wrecked.  But other times, just that it took the wrong track and is now on a new destination instead of the original planned one.  Sometimes, the new destination is better, sometimes worse.  And sometimes, the original destination can still be reached with a little ingenuity and some backtracking and switching of rails.

Recently, I've been toying with the original destination, and the idea that it may not be possible.  And that can be discouraging.  I've been working on the motto "Embrace Hope" these past few weeks.  I'm not a stranger to the motto, as I have used it often enough in the past. 

I embrace the hope that my train will come into the station and my dream will come to fruition.  But, nothing is certain.  Perhaps my dream is a foolish one and I should get a new dream. 

Perhaps instead of pulling in to a warm destination (as I would prefer), life has a destination of Alaska in mind instead. Should I instead buy a coat?  Or should I attempt to divert an undivertable train?  How far down the track to you go before you just decide to buy the coat when your luggage has been packed with nothing but shortsleeves?

This is all highly metaphorical.
The train being life, the destination being the goal/dream, and warmth being my goal/dream.  Alaska being the metaphorical opposite of my goal/dream.

How long does one try to hold on to the vague dream of warmth, before you become wise to the harsh reality of the train that you are currently riding.  Hope all I want, a metaphorical train to Alaska will never make a stop in Bermuda.  Not only because you're on the wrong train, but because you can't even achieve it by train.  boat or plane.  Those are the only two ways.  Perhaps you can take a train to a port city or a airline hub that would take you there.  But Alaska is not it.

But, perhaps Alaska wouldn't be as bad as I imagine.  It isn't my dream/goal.  But I am used to permanent setbacks.  So, perhaps Alaska is just as good as somewhere warm.

But I still dream of palm trees...for now.  Probably for always.  Even if I never reach my warm destination.