In a deeply moving intro to My Home Town, Bruce Springsteen described the big tree in his front yard that was one of the many physical anchors of his childhood play.

It was place where he rested, imagined and sought cover and distance from things a young person needs distance from. He described climbing to the top of that prolific tree and found a place he said had “dreaming room.” This moved me.

My back yard and my extended neighborhood growing up had lots of those sorts of places. Trees, ledges, gullies, hidden little ponds and dirt bike trails that seemed worlds away from school, homework, chores and structure… and my parents and my friends’ parents let us roam and let us explore. It was a time when they could do that and the worst case scenario was a run to the local hospital for a few stitches or a broken bone.

For a variety reasons, as adults, many of us lose touch with those places that have dreaming room.
But dreaming room, that is, space to imagine new things, or old things done a little differently moving forward, future days, goals or hopes you have not given up on, is critical.

Taking a walk in the woods or on the beach, finding a city bench or a random coffee shop, any place that has just a bit of cover from your daily tasks can change your disposition, your day and the way you view your beautiful ordinary life.

Friendship, Strength and Honor,
Coach Cris