I awoke one morning in Fiji to find the grass outside my room sprinkled with these stunning flowers. It’s the sort of thing you dream about but never see, and I was utterly charmed.
A couple of weeks ago my friend Corrie encouraged me to start jotting down my dreams every week. Not the ones my vivid imagination conjures up at night, but the dreams that are closest to my heart, the things I would do, try and experience if I was allowed to do anything in the world.
Yesterday, as the sun finally came out in rainy Washington, I sat in my armchair in a beam of sunshine and began to write.
I confess it was hard at first. Each thought that came into my head was immediately squelched by an “oh that’s not very practical” or “you don’t have the money for that” or “so and so wouldn’t approve at all!” But I kept shushing those naysayer thoughts until my deepest desires bobbed happily to the surface. From the silly to the sublime they came, and soon I couldn’t write fast enough.
Suddenly I noticed I was grinning like a Cheshire cat. 🙂
How lovely it was to let my imagination go wild and picture such good things as being debt-free and healthy or quirky things like building my own adult-sized tree house and traveling First Class on the Orient Express while sipping Earl Grey tea and reading Agatha Christie.
Some of my dreams may never happen, but simply writing them down got my mind whirling about ways to maybe, just maybe, make them happen. I feel inspired, creative, and excited about the future, whatever it may hold. Thank you, Corrie.
Do you have any “silly” dreams? Is there one thing you could do today to get closer to making that dream a reality?
What a wonderful idea! I try to make realistic short term goals so I know I am actually able achieve them. I do have a problem with looking at the big picture. I am trying to do that now!
It will definitely help me be more optimistic, but also patient. I will give this a try, too. I have so much going on, this may help me feel better about it all. Great post!
I have many silly dreams..the best thing for me is to stay focussed and challenge myself in order to achieve them.
I would love to be able to travel the world and visit all the cooking schools possible and then write a guide. That is my biggest dream and not sure how I could make it happen.Winning the lottery is everyones dream!
This is such a beautiful, inspiring post! Isn’t it wonderful to let our minds be free to think about what we want without limitations? I love how you awoke to a lawn of those gorgeous flowers!
This was exactly the sort of post I needed to read this morning, I have so many dreams but its easy to let them be squelched and bury them somewhere ‘safe’ away from the naysayers.
I love your dream of traveling on the Orient Express, that has been one of my long time dreams as well. =)
And those flowers, what bright splashes on my screen. Absolutely lovely! You’re making me want to visit Fiji now! =)
What a happy morning to find you are creating dreams – goals with a deadline.
xo my friend.
Corrie
Mm, wouldn’t it be fun to tour the great churches of Europe? All that incredible architecture and stained glass!
I looooved this post. I am pretty sick at the moment and this just totally changed my gloomy perspective on life, so thank you. DREAM BIG!!!
Well, I do have loads of silly dreams 🙂 But really…really…I would LOVE to be reading Agatha Christie & riding on the Orient Express – brought back no less than 5 of her books from the States! Thanks for helping me get started on my dreaming Krista..even if it might only mean taking a train ride to Nice, it’s all still wonderful 🙂
Krista, if you haven’t already, you may want to check this out: http://www.mondobeyondo.org/
Big hug and happy dreaming!
Zory
fiji looks alot like hawaii! i shouldn’t really be surprised. loved your walk in the rain.
great project, the wish list. i did one long ago (when i was 14?). i think i HAVE managed to cross a few off it! as for my today’s wish list? well, how much time do you have? the best part is that to never stop making new ones!
Now that’s seriously inspiring. Every year I do something like this but your post has reminded me that somehow, someway my goals & ambitions have become a bit too practical…., so I’m going to take a leaf out of your book & write some out there goals and dreams…., its amazing how once you write your goals down (often thinking well…, what are the chances of that!!!) and then years later you realize your actually doing that very thing & it came to you in the weirdest wonky way. I say get those dreams, crazy or not out of you & onto paper & let the Universe bring it on Baby 🙂
I admire your ability to just dream away. I have a tendency to get all caught up in the ‘how is this going to work?’ thinking. But at the moment, I dream of a summer road trip with food from farmers markets along the way. Maybe stopping for an outdoor concert or two. Yup, my head is totally in summer mode now. 🙂
Well, I’m currently looking for an apartment in very expensive Hong Kong and I’m also still trying to find a job to afford said apartment but every time I see a property magazine (you know, the mega-rich expat ones), I always pick it up and scour it for my “dream home”. My boyfriend gets upset because we can’t afford any of those homes and he thinks I’m wasting my time thinking about how I would decorate these huge palaces but to me, it’s fun to dream of my mansion and I’m going to keep on doing it until maybe one day, I’ll finally be able to afford one!
When I moved to New York after college I didn’t consciously set goals but I hope for things: loving relationship, healthy family, friendships, career — the usual stuff. And have been very very lucky and know it, so am grateful. That said, it would be quite nice to have be able to take off for a year and go hang out in all the places I dream of: London (only been there once for 3 days!), Middle Europe, Turkey, Israel, Russia, India, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam-Thailand-China-Korea, some tropical paradise islands, Alaska, the Amazon, Terra de Feugo. And somehow be able to bring the dogs along with us.
Hi Tart, thanks for checking in 🙂 My job is consuming me lately. Rounds of layoffs and tons of work unloaded and squashed into my schedule. It’s not good. I miss the blog and hope to post again soon. Keep dreaming!
Of course I have silly dreams! We all do! And I have made lists and lists and lists of them, too… and always accomplish the ones I set as a goal. The others I get closer to every year – and, some I thought I would never ever accomplish – they were “dreams” – silly, silly dreams… I have accomplished. I kept them on the list. And, just because I kept them on the list, they happened. Frame that list.
🙂
Valerie