I Have a Dream

In one of Martin Luther King's most noteable and well remembered speeches, he talks about having a dream.  Do you have a dream?  It doesn't matter how old you are.  When I was 37, I decided to completely change careers.  Was I scared?  You betcha.  Was it easy?  No way.  Am I glad I did it?  Every minute of every day.

First, let me talk to the people who don't know if they have a dream.  Sure you do.  You have goals right?  You don't?  Oh man, we need to talk.  Have you ever heard of the expression "if you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up there?"  We don't want that for you in 2015! So we are going to spend some time this week thinking about what you want. It's really important that you do this.  I don't want to hear that you don't have time.  You will find that if you:  1) know what your dreams and goals are and 2) actively look at and think about them, then 3) you will achieve them.  Or at least be moving in that direction.

The next post will be about setting goals.  For right now, we are going to start with the big picture. Some of you might be feeling like you don't know what you want or even what you like anymore (people with small children and lives that are too busy, apply here).  Take a deep breath, you're going to re-find yourself.  And it's not nearly as hard as you think.

I like the spiral bound kind

Years ago, a friend of mine gave me a book called "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  It was big back in the...80s?  early 90s?...well, I don't know, awhile ago.  I got some great things from this book all those years ago and several of them I still do today.  One of those things is having a discovery journal.  This week, take time to go buy a drawing book or sketchpad and make sure you have a pencil, glue stick and scissors that you can keep with it.  You will also need some magazines you can cut up (Don't have any? Me neither! I promise if you ask friends or co-workers, someone gets magazines and would be happy to get them off their hands!)
                           
On the first page of that sketchpad I want you to write "Bucket List".  A dream can be "a wild or vain fancy", per Webster.  That's where the bucket list comes in.  You can write down anything you want to do, no matter how much it costs, how crazy it seems, or how long from now before you can fulfill it. Remember, a bucket list is supposed to be things you want to do before you die so these are not goals we are trying to accomplish this year.  Go nuts!  They don't have to all be super expensive or outlandish though!  Keep adding to it.  All the time.  Like anytime you think of something ("I always wanted to..." or "I wonder if I can..."), add it to the list.

Back to Sarah Ban Breathnach, who is the author of that Simple Abundance book I was telling you about.  She suggests you go through magazines and cut out any pictures that are visually appealing to you and put them in your discovery journal.  You don't have to know why.  Cut them out and paste them in your  journal.  Now, in my discovery journal, I also draw sketches of things I want to do.  Believe me when I tell you I cannot draw at all.  But, if we have a dream to re-do the front porch, I want to sketch out my vision and maybe colors or things that I like for it.  Last year I cut out pictures of flowers from a gardening catalog and designed my yard with the pictures and drawings of the yard.  It's your journal, do your own thing.  But if you have a dream to re-do your living room, it might all start here.  Just sayin'.
 

A sketch page

Magazine pics

I have found the best place for me to work on my journal is in bed and therefore, I keep all my supplies in a bag beside my nightstand.  I think it works for me because my mind is in a relaxed state and my body has finally stopped for the day.  Make yourself a cup of tea (I would rather die than drink decaf coffee) and flip through a magazine.  It will only take a minute to go through one magazine.  Don't read!!!  See a picture you like?  Rip it out.  You can glue your pictures down as you go or stick them all in there and glue later.  Whatever works to get you started.  Don't sit down with 20 magazines.  Unless you have time to.  In which case, I am totally jealous. By the time I get in bed, it's a fight to stay awake.  You too?  5 minutes.  I just need you to give me 5 minutes.  Now, once you have started, and you have been doing these for awhile, you can flip through your book and see what kind of things you are cutting out.  I suggest waiting until you have 10 pages or more done.  If you know what appealed to you in a picture, you can write that in the margin ("love the color of those plates!").  If you don't know, that's ok.  Patterns will emerge.  You will be amazed at what you learn about yourself.  I found out I love the color purple (who knew?!).  I also got the inspiration to totally transform my front porch (more about this at a later date).  One of the best parts of this exercise is that you are quiet and still.  These are 2 qualities that I do not excel at.  But, they are also two qualities you need to hear that still, small voice that you will begin to recognize as God.  I don't mean you are going to start hearing voices, don't worry.  But God gives us ideas and suggestions and talks to us in our minds all the time.  The thing is, you gotta be listening.  You might be really surprised at what He has to say to you.  I call these "my epiphanies".  But really, they are His.

Martin Luther King had a dream.  His dream was...big.  He wanted to change a whole country.  We might feel like we aren't going to impact the world...but, how do you know?  Your dreams can seem small to you but they all start with an idea.  That small idea might keep evolving and turn into something bigger.  Maybe you have a goal to help one person somehow a month.  Think you only helped one person?  You never know how far a ripple will go.

Dr. King said '1963 was not an end, but a beginning'.  Let this year be a new beginning for you.  Take time to rediscover yourself.  Decide on your dreams, both big and small.  Some dreams will feel impossible.   It doesn't mean you shouldn't have them.  Imagine if Dr. King thought that.  Sure, he impacted the whole world.  Do you think he knew he would when he started out?  He too started with a still, small voice telling him to do something.  Then he decided where he wanted to go.  And look where that led us.

Take the time today to listen to Dr, King's speech.  It is so powerful.  Thank those that have gone before us and had dreams that they were brave enough to follow.  And in the words of Dr, King, "as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead.  We cannot turn back."  Let 2015 be a year of accomplishment for you.  It can start small.  It can start with baby steps.  But it all starts with a dream.

Audio of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech"

Keep Dreaming!
K