Dreaming My Dreams
Howdy, Do you remember your dreams? What did you want to be when you were a child? I wanted to be a journalist. My best friend and I decided that when we were older (21 years old was 'older' to us at the age of 11) we would live together. Our basement would be an ice rink and there wouldn't be stairs that led to it. Instead there would be an ice slide from the bottom floor to the ice rink basement. I can remember the conversation like it was yesterday and I still kind of want that ice rink basement idea. :)
Over the years I have had many dreams. I have reached some (working out for a living) and let others go (School of Journalism at Columbia University). I have noticed when I limited my dreams based on societal things and worked hard to allow my mind to wander into anything that would sound interesting to my soul. I remember when I found out that Elmo was a black guy named Kevin Clash. I was watching a talk show years ago where he was the guest. It wasn't until that moment that I realized that I hadn't ever considered becoming a puppeteer because somewhere inside I had judged it as something black folks didn't do. I had never seen someone black doing it and had completely counted it out as an option. The funniest part was I am, in no way, stereotypical with how I live my life. Still, no one is immune from those judgements about what is or is not possible. We are surrounded by limiting factors every day. After that moment, which was profound for me, I knew that I had some digging to do within myself.
Dreaming is so important. Being limitless when you dream is the key ingredient to finding out what you really want to do. Taking away the need to know how is the hardest part of dreaming. We always want to make sense of something, so much so that when we dream we forget to just feel what you feel, think what you think and then see what shakes out. So, I challenge you to dream. Dream big. Make a list of what you want to do, what you want to be, where you want to live, how you want to feel. There are no limits, there is no right, there is no wrong, there is just you. Before the phone existed someone wanted to talk to someone else who was far away. Before hot air balloons someone wanted to float around in the sky in a basket.
You just never know where your dreams may take you…
xo
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