Dirty Dreams 

Morgan McArthur for Vetscript

I could see that Brenda wasn’t kidding. Through the window her mouth was saying ‘C’mon!’ and her eyes were saying ‘RIGHT NOW!’ She jerked her thumb over her shoulder like a desperate hitchhiker. I flew out of my meeting with urgency reserved for suddenly-remembered anniversaries, heart attacks and lucky lotto wins.

‘There’s a man out front and he’s got something for you!’ she shouted in a whisper.

I wheeled around the corner at reception to see a bloke best described as an ‘action figure.’ At least that’s what he smelled like – lots of labour action without much laundry action. He was grubby but gracious. You know the picture: unshaven, mud-caked gummies, rugby shorts, and that sour shirt. Working man.

Right now there is a gaping hole in the earth next to our offices. Once a weedy eyesore, that piece of real estate has been transformed by big orange and yellow diggers scooping like hydraulic dogs in search of a long-lost lunch. A three-storey office complex will be born there soon.

The man at reception was Cory, the construction site foreman. And he was there to see me about a dream.

All day long the equipment operators are working, shifting dirt and preparing the site for the birth of a building. I’ll admit that more than once I’ve looked out the window and revisited childhood sandbox fantasies. Tonka trucks have a lot to answer for. Those dreams don’t die. They just go dormant.

And as the saying goes, ‘Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.’

One day I let it slip that I’ve always wanted to drive a digger. Brenda heard me. And the one and only time Cory ever stepped foot in our offices Brenda caught him and told him she knew a guy who had wanted to drive a digger all his life...

Cory’s response? “Go get him.”

As Cory and I walked across the site it didn’t matter that I was schlupping through ankle-deep mud in dress shoes. I was gonna drive a digger!

After a basic orientation Cory told me to go and dig. Whoooo-eeee! I was diggin’ [it] all right! For thirty glorious minutes I worked the joysticks (appropriately named) to reeeeeeach, scrape, scooop, lift, bounce, swivel and dump. Again. And again. And again! I felt the earth move… and I’m still smilin’ as I write this!

Sounds too easy doesn’t it? I’ll bet a fair number of hopes, ideas and goals are out there just waiting for an awakening. They don’t often come to life unless someone else knows about them. Taking our goals public mobilizes resources that we don’t have on our own. People with wider connections or insights than ours or who can see a better way. They’re out there. But they can’t help us unless we let them know what we want.

So, what do you want to do? Let people know and they’ll help you dig your dreams.

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