Stay Away From Those ‘Basket Thieves’

Your hopes, your dreams, your wishes and aspirations, all of your visions for your life are stacked together in your own little basket of hope. I have one. So does my neighbor, and my best friend too. Be it in our minds, or on paper, we all have that little basket of hope. Or one could even go so far as to call it a “bucket list”. I call it my “basket of hope”. Same difference.

Recently I had the misfortune of coming across a “basket thief” – kind of like a horse whisperer or a dog whisperer, except not nearly the positive experience either one of the above can bring. A basket thief doesn’t come to you to whisper in your ear about your hopes and your dreams. They don’t even really care about your hopes and dreams. What they do care about is you putting aside said hopes and dreams in order to help them achieve theirs.

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

We’ve all been through this scenario in our lives, and the older we get the more it will get to you. Don’t be fooled! Don’t get sucked in, mentally, physically or emotionally. Because they are so good at “basket stealing” that you may not realize it until it is too late. By then, you are tied to them in a way you cannot explain. You won’t know how you got there. All you will know is they seem to hold the key to your happiness in their hand and aren’t willing to let you, or your dreams go.

How to spot a basket thief? They are usually very charismatic, and will display such avid interest in you that you will immediately think there is no way this person could mean you any harm. But be careful. After you spill your dreams and your hopes from your basket into theirs, you will see their behavior start to change, and their interest in your life start to wane – except for when they need you to do something for them.

Friends… they cherish one another’s hopes. They are kind to one another’s dreams ~ Henry David Thoreau

How to avoid a basket thief is the more important the question. Once you know what you are looking for, you can avoid them – these thieves of hearts and dreams and love and trust. Never give your heart or your ideas or your visions away too quickly. This is key to avoiding them, because those are the “eggs” they seek for their own basket.

It’s akin to someone trying to steal your joy from you. They come in male form, female form, family, friends and even enemies. So, keep your counsel until you know someone well enough to truly share who you are and what you want for yourself. Don’t put all your “eggs” in the basket of another, until you know for sure they won’t break your dreams or steal your aspirations.