I had an odd dream Friday morning in which people started wishing each other “Good baby steps!” That meant making slow and steady progress, without time pressure or worries. When I woke up, I realized it was just a dream and our busy, fast paced culture had not really changed. But it left me thinking—what if people really did expect to go through life in a spirit of adventure, with plenty of time to do anything we might want, as if we were babies just learning to walk?

Instead of rushing to get through our projects, we would see them as fun opportunities to create and explore. We wouldn’t obsess about money and status, but would simply trust that the world was full of abundance and that we’d always have enough to meet our needs. If something didn’t work out, we would pick ourselves right back up again and keep on going, without any self-judging thoughts about failure or whether we should have done better.

If we wanted a toy, we would just think about how to get it, rather than worrying that we might not be good enough to deserve it. And when we got it, we wouldn’t be self-conscious about being happy in the moment. We would feel comfortable with taking breaks when we needed them, napping when we got sleepy, and looking around when a pretty bird or an interesting idea flew by.

Yes, it was just a dream; but I’d like to believe that it gave me a tiny peek into a more joyful future. So I’ll say to all my readers today: Wishing you good baby steps!