After this year, space missions with astronauts will be a thing of the past. Quite a sad thought, really, when you consider how many little boys grow up dreaming of walking on the moon. First, the truth about Pluto and now this. It’s a lot for kiddos to take in. Frankly, it’s a lot for their fathers to accept, too. No more, “I wanna be a fireman, or policeman, or doctor, or astronaut…” No more of the latter. That dream has bid, “Sayonara!” Thanks for nothin’, NASA.

I kid.

In the spirit of keeping dreams alive, or rather the art of dreaming, I bring you the handsome, talented, and neighborly (He and his beautiful family are in fact my neighbors. I could go throw a rock at his house… right… now!) Andrew Osenga, musician, producer, songwriter and balladeer extraordinaire. But he’s much, much more than that, folks. Osenga, formerly of The Normals and Caedmon’s Call, is a man with a mission. A musical space mission. Osenga (Choosing Sides) wants to record an album “in space,” and he’s looking for a few good astronauts to help get him there via the “Leonard the Lonely Astronaut” Kickstarter campaign.

This latest dream has kept him up at night and also helped the once-insomniac find rest. Seriously. Osenga used to lie awake into the wee, wee hours of the night, and while fatherhood and a new penchant for getting his fitness with a pair of running shoes have helped him make amends with some jumping sheep, it was his encounter with imagined fictional character, Leonard “Lee” Belle and his “life” that have really changed his own story. Ladies, what your husband is really thinking about is his own individual space odyssey through a lone, lonely astronaut.

Here is the premise of Osenga’s project in own words:

My next solo record is going to tell the story of a man named Leonard Belle. He lives 300 years from now and loses his wife in a sudden accident while their divorce is being finalized. In his rage and grief he takes a gig driving a long-distance space freighter for a year. (Due to relativity, by the time he returns to Earth everyone he knows will be old or dead.) He decides to bring along some antique instruments and recording equipment (just like the stuff I have!) and will make a record.

This is the record I will make; the man whose story I will tell.

Leonard’s story is one worth exploring. Who among us has never been lonely, or desperate, or felt the need to be entirely isolated? Have you ever just wanted to run away? Leonard keeps losing his wife over and over again and in every way imaginable. That kind of pain would make me want to run.

So this record of Osenga’s is more than building a spaceship set of sorts, bringing in his recording equipment, donning a spacesuit, and recording songs inspired by the life of Leonard Belle. (How whackadoodle and awesome is that, by the way?) Osenga’s a bit of a method actor in this. But, why does it matter? Because he doesn’t want to wake up years from now saying, “Dang it. I never built that spaceship,” that’s why. While I have to believe this particular dream and vision of Osenga’s are entirely original, the idea and human need to live out the story and mission we feel called to, that we were created for,  is not. Granted we’re not going to space, but it would be very cool if we were.

What drives a person to actually stop talking about a dream and do something about it? Community, that’s what. A bunch of fellow travelers who toss out “crazy ideas” late at night while on a tour bus, in a coffee shop, over dinner, at an incredible retreat in Vancouver, or if you’re Andy-O, all of the above. And those friends are the reason why he has gone from saying, “I’m gonna record two songs [for Leonard] and walk away,” to putting this campaign into action.

On that fateful Vancouver retreat, Osenga encountered many a challenging and inspirational conversation, but it was the incredible Mr. Bob Goff who made him realize perhaps this idea for his latest album wasn’t so off after all. “Bob’s whole thing is that life is an adventure. Being raised barely middle class you don’t have adventure… He really ignited in me this excitement that you’re unique. If it can serve someone, and you’re using your gifts, then why not do it?”

Goff’s embrace of whimsy and adventure is featured throughout Don Miller‘s book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. After a weekend ruminating on story with Goff, Miller, and other creative friends, Osenga realized, “If you don’t take big risks, big things will never happen. Trying weird, crazy things works. [Bob's] life proves it.”

And hopefully, Osenga’s life–heck, all of ours–will, too. Let’s help send him off first, though. You know, as a guinea pig of sorts. A guinea pig with a mission…