To Dream Like a Child Again

Funny how when you are a kid you can lay on your back and almost feel as if, if you stretch up just as hard as you possibly can with your arms towards the sky you can touch the clouds rolling by.   And on those summer nights, when you are camping outside with friends, and the night sky is filled with stars, you do the same exercise with those beautiful blinking lights.  In your child’s mind, you are not entirely convinced, it can’t be done so you reach out and attempt each time you think of it, just one more try. 

And remember those first few concerts you went to when you were a young teenager? There was that hot young star singing on the stage that you finally got to see live in person that was plastered all over the posters in your room.  Even from the back seat of a stadium, you have yourself convinced he looks the same. And then, there was that moment in the concert, when he looked your way, and locked eyes with you during that one slow love song. Wow, what are the odds of that happening? How did he pick you out of that crowd of female gawkers, you are amazed and yet touched. Maybe it was just pure destiny.  

Why is it that the one boy so many of us have that huge crush on is the one that doesn’t know we exist, much less care?  You know the one, the high school football or basketball star. The guy that is a cutie, popular with all the girls, all except for you.  Yet, you continually fantasize that one day he will wake up and see that he belongs with you.   You are worthy.   And so, you hang in there with your undying devotion, each time getting hurt over and over again with each break up he has as he just picks up another new girlfriend overlooking you.

Sometimes, as an adult, I miss the childhood innocence of wishing for the impossible.  Logic, as a child, is not nearly as apparent as it is when you are an adult. Thus, the land of make believe seems like a real possibility.  It allows for more hope, more chances of change and more wishing. You believe, as a child, wishes can and will come true, if you wish hard enough.  

I think we all need to work at getting that wishing ability back. The ability to dream the impossible dream is a gift, part of living life to the fullest. It does not mean we have to believe the impossible but what is the harm in trying to catch a butterfly with our bare hands as we did as children, or lie on our backs and assess what the shape of a cloud looks like if it were an object.  Why not wish upon a star? What do we have to lose?    

The innocence somehow gets replaced with a cynicism of life.   With the rejection and the maturing comes responsibility and this overriding sense of anything remotely childlike is irresponsible and immature.  I beg to differ.   Giving in occasionally to the child within is freeing. It is an important part of who you are.   Allowing it to come out is allowing you to be free of some of the constraints, within reason of course.  We are allowed, even as adults, to swing, to go down slides, to blow bubbles, or do other activities that use to fill our summer vacation days; passing time aimlessly laughing without a care in the world. 

Those days go by so quickly and yet are a small portion of our life span.   Life is way too serious sometimes, most of the time.  We need breathers, emotional breaks.   We need to be children sometimes and just chill and dream.   Besides, why should kids have all the fun anyways? To Dream .......

Live Your Dream

Are you holding on to a dream or are you living it? If you are not living it, what are you waiting on?

As a friend and I walked in the woods encircling her home, we reviewed our lives. We each took our turn discussing how we got to where we were, what led us to meeting each other and both being at the same place at the same time. That inevitably led to the circumstances to be just right for our friendship to form. We both like to think that God had a hand in it.

As we opened up and shared our feelings with each other about our joys and our sorrows, we realized how rich our lives had been. It was one of those ah-ha moments. The light bulb came on during out chat, and we appreciated how interesting our lives had been. Our lives, in the day to day scheme of things, may seem mundane, but, in actuality, they are not in the complete package. As each of us is unique, our lives are also.

I suppose one can never talk to a friend about their live and the past without talking about the future. So it was that day, our conversation progressed to the what’s next for each of us. Both of us, having been cancer survivors, are reminded daily that life on earth is not a given. God is the only sure thing.

This conversation with my dear friend came back to me this week when my husband started talking about a milestone birthday he has coming up. He had concerns about the 'number'. Like so many of us, he finds himself getting focused on the age he is turning and what he hasn't done, what he doesn't have. Is that not what society markets to us all?

Oh how easily we forget all we have done and how blessed we are to be alive to even have the chance talk about it! My husband, for example, what exactly is he running out of time for? What does he have to do that is so awfully important to stress over today, which could be his last day, who knows but the good Lord above.

God gave me a little more time to spend with him,my husband, my best friend. That turned out to be my best dream, the only way that truly mattered and it is happening,; I am living it. My husband and I then went on to talk about what he wants to do with the rest of his time, our time together as we know it is limited, cancer taught us that and age is showing us mortality is inevitable too. Thus, we made some plans. Modest though they are as in this economy compromise is a must! Who can really afford to fly to the moon?

Whatever the dream is, the time we are given (our gift from God),is non negotiable. Plan accordingly and consider revising it if it is way out of reach. Unrealistic dreams are like unrealistic goals, lessons in self defeat. I wish that it had not taken cancer for me to realize how soon my time here will end but then again, some of us just have to get that big old sign to get the message loud and clear, LIFE IS SHORT.

Perfect time to write this with Easter coming up. Amen to Jesus for letting us know what is on the other side........

Hence I propose the following:

•Make sure your dreams are realistic and worth holding onto.
•Let others in on your heart’s desire, your dream, so that they will hold you to it and also help make it come together. There is sometimes no greater joy than helping others achieve their dream. (Why keep all the fun to yourself?)
•Make a plan, set up a course of action. Dreams don’t just happen; you have to care enough to make them happen. (If you want to marry someone, you have to date them first, preferably anyways!)
•Then enjoy it for all it is worth. And know that you have, indeed, made your Father proud.

For He, also, had a dream…

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…..” (Genesis 1:1)


And YOU are part of it!