Are Your Dreams Too Small?

Sir Francis Drake was the most renowned seaman of the Elizabethan Age. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English. He also carried out the second circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580.

During the course of my daily readings, I came across the following prayer which has been  attributed to Sir Francis Drake, and commonly known as Drake's Prayer:
“Disturb us, Lord, 
When we are too well pleased with ourselves, 
When our dreams have come true because we have 
dreamed too little, 
When we arrived safely 
Because we sailed too close to the shore. 
Disturb us, Lord, when 
With the abundance of things we possess 
We have lost our thirst 
For the waters of life; 
Having fallen in love with life, 
We have ceased to dream of eternity 
And in our efforts to build a new earth, 
We have allowed our vision 
Of the new Heaven to dim. 
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, 
To venture on wider seas 
Where storms will show your mastery; 
Where losing sight of land, We shall find the stars. 
We ask You to push back 
The horizons of our hopes; 
And to push into the future In strength, courage, hope, and love.”

Scholars can debate whether or not any of this prayer was actually written or prayed by Drake himself.  While he would certainly have understood its sentiment, in the end it matters little if the words were his or not.

Whether you're a renowned seaman, who finds his purpose in the open waters, or a runner who finds fulfillment on the trail, have you allowed yourself to become complacent?  Have your dreams become too small?

What are you goals? Your ambitions?  Have you allowed yourself to become too comfortable?

The discovery of Drake's Prayer has served as a reminder to re-examine myself and my goals.  To make sure that time is taken each day to reflect.  To write down my thoughts and ambitions.  To mark lessons learned from each day, and each experience.      

We have all heard the saying: “A ship in the harbour is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” Food, shelter, and warmth are not enough on their own. In order to flourish, we need a dream – a sense of purpose. A dream come true is, by definition, not a dream any more. And when our dreams come true, we need to dream new dreams.  We need to challenge ourselves to imagine new worlds, and new horizons.

Of course, to reach new horizons, we must first understand where we are, and then set to the task of stretching beyond our own comfort zone.