Stretch to Dream

It’s 4:44am in the kitchen with the Bohemian. He’s eating oatmeal before leaving for work, I’m sipping Earl Grey from a glass mug. We’re wide awake at our typical daybreak hour but this morning we’re talking about dreams. Big ones.

Today’s pre-sunrise revelation comes as we discuss an anecdote for recurring negative thoughts. These menaces arise in all forms: worry about losing something or not having enough. Judgements about a co-worker, family member, random stranger, or ourselves. These slimy notions feel heavy and thick in body, soul and mind. They cloud our heads and deflate our spirits. Sometimes they loop in constant chatter, overwhelming and seemingly unstoppable.

My friend, Toni Childs, once termed this frequency Radio KF*CK. The mental station that pollutes our beings with negativity, only bringing us down. The control dial is within our reach, and we can choose to change the channel.

But what about the times when we’re in such a funk we don’t feel we have the power to turn that dial? We’re deep in the dumps and need some tool to find the strength to switch it.

Dream! Dream big!

This is the revelation of the morning. A suggested experiment to every person that finds themselves in a defeating thought pattern. Take it as a cue. No need to make negativity an enemy. How about seeing it as a messenger, even a friend? A true blue reminder that it’s time to dream again.

Next time Worry-wart Wayne shows up, maybe we could say something like, “Okay W, it’s true that I’m not yet sure what work I’m going to find. Yes, that’s something that needs to be figured out before this month’s rent payment. I hear you. Your message has been delivered and received. Thanks! Bye! I’m dreaming now about the work I want to be doing and how it’s going to plentifully support me.”

I’m not suggesting sitting in a room and fantasizing about your dream job is going to make the phone ring with an employment offer (though anything is possible). I’m proposing that the power of dreams, with its light-hearted, mind-expanding energy of possibility can lift us out of worry into action, moving us toward what we really want.

When we get caught in thinking only of the mess of this world, the weight of those stressful, gooey thoughts can be a simple reminder that we’re ready to dream something better. What do we want the world to be? What’s our greatest vision for this life?

Everything we see in the material world began with a vision in someone’s mind. We are living in a collection of dreams made real. There is no limit to the things we can realize.

So let’s gather the dreamers and juice up our inspirations. Let’s use our worries and fears as mere signposts pointing the way to dream better, bigger.

Let’s see how vastly we can dream and bring it into our lives, our world, our hearts, our minds.

At least that’s the inspiration for the day. I’m going to try it. Those on board with the experiment, tell me how it goes.

True Love

You must love yourself in order to love anyone else. We’ve heard this adage before and we can understand its truth.

But are we really loving ourselves? Truly? Deeply? Body, mind, heart, soul?

Or are there little pockets where we are withholding love?

At the end of 2016, judgements swirled at the height of a presidential election and the media was saturated with criticisms and finger-pointing.

As I observed this play out on the world screen, I turned my gaze inward, noticing I had my own little tit for tat going on within.

I was ashamed to admit it, but it was true. I wasn’t loving myself, unconditionally. Truth be told, there were pockets in my mind where I just wasn’t being kind. Sometimes the thoughts would flit so quickly, they’d often go unnoticed. But their sear was cumulative and lasting.

A criticism of myself for not having been more patient with Jeb: “Well that exchange will scar him for life. I’m an awful mother.”

A judgement that my stir-fry just didn’t turn out with the spice I was hoping for: “No matter how I try, I’m just a terrible cook.”

A defeated look in the mirror: “Wow, I’m getting old. Who is that ugly woman in the mirror?”

It’s not easy to admit that I would send these silent zingers to myself. It’s even harder to type them out to lay bare in the ether here. But perhaps they sound familiar. My wish would be that these quiet put downs are alien to you. But I suspect that all too often, many of us fall prey to the mental looping of continual criticism, which eats away at our esteem and staves off love.

So tired I was of being mean to myself, but not sure how to stop the habit, I grasped for something tangible. I put a big pause on what I was feeding myself, literally. I chose not to put in anything unhealthy. I chose to add only the highest, most nutritious food and phyto-nutrients. I figured I could start with my body and hopefully the vessel that housed my mind would have influence on my thoughts.

As I loved my body by giving it the utmost care, I began to see more loving thoughts cross my mind. The negative judgements dissolved. My cells reverberated with more kindness. I felt happier. I had more patience. Food was more appreciated and flavorful. I saw my true and beautiful self in the mirror again. I felt younger, more inspired.

We hold our hearts in our own hands. We get to choose how to treat ourselves. I’m still learning. But as we enter the month of Valentine’s Day with hearts and flowers, chocolates and diamonds, I’d like to advocate for the truest gem: our own hearts.

Delicate and pure, full of infinite potential. Lets house them well. Nurture them. Then spread the love.

Art Before Headlines

I’ve purposely not read the news before coming here to the Archives.

If I begin to follow the latest media feed this morning, I will get lost in a splintering of thought threads to nowhere. Emotions will ricochet, probably fixate, and creative expression will get ditched for dismay.

Art deserves sacred space, preferably before 6am.

Today’s humble offering is simply an observation. Acknowledgement of the path I’m following, with no certainty of where it leads. I sense that I’m on track, though the exact coordinates of my destination are unknown.

Maybe this is true of the collective. Perhaps the whole world is feeling its way in the dark, with only a few feet ahead illumined by some slant of light. Step by step, we’re making our way. How do we know which course to follow?

I’ve got my inner compass in extra-sensory mode, trying to listen deeply, watch carefully, and go with my gut.

How are you making your way?