From Here to Timbuktu

So I am always conscientiously trying to live in the moment. Or live for the moment. Be here. Today. Now. Or whatever. And it's hard to do in a society that believes in results, outcomes, projected goals, tomorrow. Always tomorrow.

I've always been a firm believer that as long as you do your absolute best today, tomorrow will work itself out. But... How do dreams fit into this equation? When do I stop reaching for the stars and accept what I have here, in front of my face?

In a more concrete way, but still hypothetical... Today I will teach a woman in a rural area of a third world country how to read. I cannot save the world today, but today I can teach someone how to read. And tomorrow she will teach her children to read. And the day after that they will go to school and eventually study at a good university, or read their own rights and eventually stand up to their oppressors. And in that way, by doing what I can today, I have set the precedent for "saving the world" tomorrow. In that way, I will never stop working for a better tomorrow.

But... Let's say you have dreams of living far far away one day. Timbuktu perhaps. And let's say that Timbuktu is promoting this great opportunity for people to come live there. No red tape. No expensive visas.  Just easy immigration. One day very soon the deal is going to end. You don't know when that date is, only that it is very soon and that once it ends the doors of immigration will be closed tighter than they were before. The problem is you are still waiting on some unfinished business here and you don't know when you will be able to tie up the loose ends. You don't foresee this happening any time soon. Do you wait, and keep on waiting, until the day those doors close? Or do you bet in favour of the odds, stop waiting, and truly start living your life here? 

Am I being transparent? And still a little ambiguous? I guess I'm just muttering to myself. But really, how do we live in a universe which provides no guidelines?