I recently wrote about the need to pare down my life in order to fit into my 300 square foot New York apartment. This has meant selling couches, giving away clothing, and today, selling my car.

As a Detroiter, you can imagine the fear of going “car-less”. Who are we without wheels? This sale is particularly painful because I LOVE my car. A bright red MINI convertible proudly boasting “HAPPYCR”, she is the car of my dreams.

She is also the car of Leslie’s dreams. A 45-year old mother of three, Leslie gave up her marketing career and dreams of a MINI 14 years ago to become a stay-at-home mom with a sensible SUV. In all that time, though, her yearning for a MINI convertible never faded. It grew.

That’s the thing with our dreams. They never go away. If we don’t try to fulfill them, they just nag at us, louder and louder until we can’t help but listen. And we must listen. Our dreams tell us something very important about our soul’s needs. Does Leslie “need” the car? No. But perhaps she needs to feel young and free, to feel sexy and/or be in control of her own life instead of just everyone else’s. Regardless of the underlying need, it is real – and today, she fulfills that dream when she adopts the HAPPYCR as her own.

I thought I’d be crying on the day when I sold my MINI. I thought I’d be hanging on to her, refusing to give her up. But knowing that she will be in Leslie’s good hands makes me want to let her go. I want Leslie to have this car. For in doing so, I help her fulfill her dreams. And as you know, fulfilling dreams is what I most dream of in life.

Here’s to fulfilling our dreams!