Catching Dreams...

I have discovered a new favorite song. One that stops me from breathing and simultaneously sends my heart in motion. The message is clear and is one we should embrace - yet sadly we often do not.
"One minute is fading, one minute has passed... but I've got this moment to make it all last. I'm standing before you taking my chance on everything I never though I could be... because you can do almost anything...if you just believe. You can move mountains with dreams. The higher you climb, the better it gets. Because you will see things you'll never forget."

~Suize McNeil "Believe"


What powerful words. While I listen I close my eyes and my heart's dreams fill my mind's eye. It is amazing how this happens - how music can draw up such feelings.


As I sit with the sun warming every part of me, I think about dreams. Sometimes we have the courage to dream, yet lack the commitment to take steps to make them happen. At other times our spirits are filled with such sadness and disappointment in ourselves that we forget how to dream. The teacher inside me desires to guide these individuals and teach them to once again be led by their deepest desires. However, dreaming is such an individual experience. No one can see your inner thoughts and dreams... I believe that is what makes them so precious.


In a course I took recently, they challenge each individual to develop a purpose, using words and actions that are of personal value. In doing so you create a guidepost to direct your lifestyle. At the completion of the course my purpose was... "To inspire others to smile, dream, and live with passion." In other words, I may not be able to teach someone to dream - but hopefully I am able to inspire them to dream by the way I chose to live and dream myself.

Originality

Originality – grown out of the human desire to leave our own unique footprint on the world.
How many different establishments are built on this desire…to create something new or to do something differently than others? As I drove through the city today, I was struck by how many different businesses are simply a consumer venue for originality. Although, like many, I enjoy discovering something unique in the consumer world – I still hope that my originality is more meaningful and deep. It was the next activity of exploring creativity that led me to wonder these things.

The goal - to list 100 different uses for an ordinary pencil. The challenge – to continue being original after reaching 30. Feeling at a loss for ideas produced uses like, “writing verbs, writing nouns, writing punctuation” - obviously lacking originality. However, as I continued the exercise I began to create ridiculous (and original) uses. For example, sending a favorite teacher a bouquet of pencils, or using a pencil as temporary arms for broken eyeglasses. I am still working towards my 100 different uses, but I have just passed the 40 Milestone.
Working through this activity made me consider - in what areas do I hope to be original. Then I paused to think; sometimes we put so much effort into achieving originality that we do not stop to reflect that we as individuals are already original. In simply being true to our own unique hearts, we love our own way, we trust our own way, we laugh our own way and we dream our own way. What a blessing! We simply have to learn to be comfortable in our own skin to be original.
Surely our own originality will flow out into the practical areas of careers, as well as written and artistic works. We should always strive to meet goals that challenge our norm– but with the understanding that as unique individuals we are already working with our own original brand.

The truth about originality is that we all leave footprints in the sand of relatively the same size – some are just looked at with greater magnification.

Just listening...

I am sitting just listening to the thunder crash…the light show outside is one that almost takes your breath away. The electric lightning is made even more dramatic by the darkness inside the house…the power has gone off. I have many memories stored in my mind surrounding this very context. It seemed that almost every blackout we would play endless hours of SORRY, the game that makes even a power outage seem short.
There is something majestic about lightning storms. Such beauty in the split second of light, then power and strength in the rumble that follows. As much as I have grown to appreciate observing different art, I have never found an exhibit that captures my attention the way the natural world does.
The past week has held a few powerful moments for me. My friend and I pushed physical boundaries to swim, bike, and run - completing our first triathlon. Besides the obvious physical demands, I found myself feeling fairly emotional as we crossed the finish line. What energy I felt in the realization that I could achieve something so beyond my initial ability! In all honesty, I found myself wondering when I could participate in this event again.
I am also learning the power of being honest…at times brutally honest – both with others and myself. In the past I have attempted to always please those around me – often to the point of repressing my real reactions and feelings. Working at letting my heart speak honestly is both difficult and necessary. Pleasantness and surface talk can lead relationships to become something no longer real. By being honest and expressing real feelings, I have put myself in a vulnerable place. It is from this place that deep and real friendships can grow. It may be a friendship that looks different than before, but it is still something to treasure.
Not only have these experiences themselves been powerful, but the reflection and thoughts afterwards also develop feelings of empowerment. Not because I am always strong, but because I am willing to experience my weakness and strive to be present in moments where I find my inner strength.
So I am just listening…to hear the sounds of the power around me and carefully to hear the power within me.

Somewhat of a beginning...

I enjoy using the written form to reflect on different experiences in life. I understand that often my words are only significant to me. However, the beauty of sharing thoughts and ideas is that they can open doors in the minds of others. Over the past few years, I have enjoyed traveling through the written words of my cousin’s blog. I find entering this world can be consuming to both the spirit and mind. Inspiration and thirst for life begins to seep out onto those close by – challenging the reader to live life on purpose. So here are my personal experiences, my reflections, my hopes and dreams – as well as my weaknesses, my fears, and my failures. All working together to create the collage that is life.
I am entering a new stage of life – in other words, I am in the process of transitioning from school into career. Graduating left me with a feeling of sadness for what familiarity and guidance I was leaving behind. However, this sadness was coupled with a building eagerness to see what was on the path ahead. This new stage brings the anxiety of the unknown and the fear of possible failure in an area that is my heart’s passion. As I feel more familiar with this stage, I have become more aware of how important it will be to maintain a sense of balance and center.
I just returned from a wonderful trip that was a time of reflection, dreaming, and creating new goals for what is to come. I am working at digging deep to see what dreams are closest to my heart. At times I find being alone with my thoughts intimidating… but it is in those moments that your heart and spirit breathe the words your mind needs to hear… So I am trusting that as I become more open to what is both around me and within me, I will be led in a more real and genuine direction.
In working towards maintaining balance, I have begun to work through activities that challenge my personal creative process. I began to explore unrestricted drawing and sketching today. All the activity asks is that you do not restrict any thought or movement that comes through. One page I started filling with words that I hope to live by. Hope, love, dreams, passion, goals…etc.; yet, as I continued it became more difficult to think of words along this same line. My charcoal shifted and began writing words over what had been previously written. Words like fear, weaknesses, control, and failure began to appear. Feelings that can often be restrictive forces in life. Perhaps these words come forth because in my mind they can have great power if I allow them to. This visual provided a powerful image of how things so close to our hearts can be hidden for fear of what forces outside may push back. This is familiar to me - at times I find myself concerned with the thoughts of others, how they perceive what I say and do; and other times my own thoughts tear down what I expose. I am finding that I am more willing to learn about the different ways my heart reacts to situations, instead of feeling threatening I feel more empowered to be present during those moments and see value in them.
The most empowering feeling, however, is the understanding that this a journey with no end point. I can only make an effort to simply live in a way where I am present in each moment.