Vision Boards

My best friend wants to join the army. Of course I freaked out when he told me the first time. Of course, I said "no, not the army." Of course I went home and read all about the army, scrolling through galleries of homecoming and the face of sacrifice. And of course, of course, of course, I still wasn't convinced.I did what I do best whenever he raised the subject: skillfully steer us away towards a more comfortable zone. I asked him if he had considered being one of those journalists who report a little farther from the war front. Perhaps he could preach to the wounded in tents located very far away from the points of danger.I could have come up with a hundred and one suggestions he should opt for but I knew, as I had from the very moment he told me, that this choice was final. He wasn't going to change his mind- no matter how much I tried.The last time I saw someone's vision board, I was completely lost in all the many shaped magazine cutouts that were glued all over the page. Sometimes it's a single word springing out of the middle or a string of unrelated images of a car, a swimsuit, a book, some kind of delicacy which looks like it wasn't made to be consumed but photographed. The thing with vision boards is that you never fully know what's up. The closest we can ever get is a good guess and a bundle of misinterpretations.We are only able to completely realize the dreams of others when we allow them to communicate their hearts out to us.I have an invisible panic button beneath my sleeve. The least thing sets it off: coming back to thirteen missed calls from one person, deadlines, remembering someone's birthday after it's passed and most importantly, scary news like my best friend wanting to join the army.Half the time, these fears are rooted in a pathetic "me" syndrome. If he goes, he'll leave me behind. He might stop calling me. He might never make it back to me.We cannot be so consumed by our own stories that we forget others have stories to tell too. People have carefully mapped out their dreams on shaky faith and relentless zeal and this may not always make any bit of sense to us and that's okay because it is what they want, it is the very thing that drives them crazy and pushes them out of their beds in the morning. And they'll go for it. With or without us.This world is running out of hearts that beat for others. Hearts that rev to life with dreams that don't belong to them but believe in its power to run like crazy. We ought to be the kind of people with hearts like this, this understanding of community that lingers on the pavement after honest and hard conversations and whispers into the night:"I may not know why you're pursuing this. I may have a hard time coping with the changes that this will bring. But if this is it, the very thing that sets your heart on fire and drives the utmost passion burning inside of you, then I'm all in. My hands are on deck, my mind is hugging your victory, my feet are running right next to yours- while you chase this dream and make it yours."The best part of this is not being strong in watching the people you love run an unknown race, it is the thought that dances in their minds as they set off, take flight and soar, knowing that their people are watching them, rooting for them, calling their names over their shoulders , reminding them of why they started in the first place.The best part is knowing that they are not alone.