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So I am reading I Am That Girl and it's fantastic. I highly recommend it! It has some creative exercises in it and one I tried this morning was free-writing my dreams. It was so interesting to see the things that came up (like making homemade dog biscuits...what the what?!?!) when I was just going for it and not being held down by my circumstances or fears. I thought I would share what I wrote here. It's a bit of a mess but that is what free-writing is about, just getting it out there and going with your mind flow. So here it is, and I am pretty excited for the next step which is figuring out the steps I need to take to make these dreams a reality!
Dreamer:
I want to write for xo Jane or a feminist magazine, online or in print. I want to make things I love making and sell them or not, I want to make zines. I want to be a gardener, have a greenhouse and sell something at the Farmer’s market.
I want to take a baking class/cooking class. To help people with mental illness. To have a book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and on a best seller list. I want to go to the coffee shop or sit in the backyard and write every day.
I want to live on a ranch and rehabilitate dogs and garden/farm, make homemade dog biscuits to sell. I want to live in a beach house in Pacific Grove and be an artist and writer/marine biologist.
I want to live in Europe, I want to work at a bakery or a book shop and write and paint.
I want to work on human rights issues, support women, stand up for LGBTQ people , support children, end racism.
I want to live in an eichler/mid century modern home in Walnut Creek. I want to keep all the windows open in the Spring. Run a book club out of my home. Have a close group of friends that support each other, encourage each other, and are driven to make a difference.
I want to have friends that I can be truly open with. That are responsive and supportive. That are passionate and driven. I want to spend time with friends every week and have fun with them/be silly. I want to know my friends will always have my back and I want to do the same for them.
I want to have a career in something I believe in. I want to help people every day, whether on an individual level, larger level, behind the scenes, or close up. I want to learn biology. I want to read all the time on the beach. I want to cook most days, learn new things and challenge myself.
I want to have a routine I follow every day that helps me be a better person and reach my goals. I want to focus on the little things that make life good, I want to meditate, do yoga, enjoy the ritualistic nature of life, live in nature.
I want to travel the world and meet people, to experience everything and be vulnerable. I want to have kids and teach them to love others, to be open to living a full life and not settling for humdrum. I want to see the world through their eyes, and enjoy every day with them.
I want to learn about web design. Whether this helps in a career way or just makes it so I can make a kick ass blog. I want to have real-life skills so I can have a career if I choose too and I know I can do technical things.
I want to speak to groups of people suffering from mental illness, I want to share my story and tell them there is hope. That I never thought I could get better, that I thought there wasn’t hope for my entire thirty years on earth, but that I found it. It took a long time, but I found it, and things are getting better. I want to help people with mental illness with the little things I needed help with, like grocery shopping, cleaning, preparing meals, or picking outfits/getting ready for the day. I want to go for walks with them and just let them cry on my shoulder or talk.
I want to be a part of something bigger. To work with people that share a common purpose and goal. To encourage people on their journey to being true to themselves and become whole.
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I'll keep you posted on some of the dreams I choose to pursue and my plans to get there.
What are some of your dreams?
xo, C
I love this, it's fantastic. My "dream" life always ends up as dry as a grocery list when I put it down on paper. This exercise was wonderful, I must try it! Thanks for sharing....and I have a winning dog treat recipe that I will send you!
ReplyDeleteYes, you should try this exercise! I usually do the "grocery list" style and it doesn't feel nearly as real and inspiring as this. xo, C
DeleteWalnut Creek… in Arizona? God, I LOVE that area!!!!! I would so live there if I could. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteLove your dreams. Maybe I ought to do this exercise myself. I've been feeling so *stifled* by my diseases, and the damn myriad of symptoms that just seem to keep cropping up and getting worse. Bah. But seriously, so many of your dreams are ones that I would LOVE to live out myself. Gardening and selling at Farmer's Market? I did that in Idaho, and let me tell you… it was a dream life. Hard work, to be sure, and I couldn't physically manage it now, but it was great. I also sang and played guitar at the FM for money every week. That was so fun, too.
Heh, your description of helping people with mental illness with their little tasks… those are exactly the things *I* need help with as well! But for a little different reasons… some the same, though. I think it's always good and important when someone who has struggled mightily with a thing, like mental illness, or abuse in my case, when they step up and deliberately try to help other people who are in a place where they used to be. I tell you from experience that it is incredibly fulfilling, rewarding, and also really hard. :) So worth it, though. (I had a LOT of PTSD flashbacks while leading support groups for sexually abused tween and teen girls. Didn't get better until I quit because of my health.)
It's actually Walnut Creek in California (it really is about 5 minutes from where I currently live but all the midcentury modern houses are over there!). You should do this exercise, maybe share it on your blog?
DeleteWow, it must have been hard helping people but so rewarding too. I hope I get to a point where I can do something to help too.
xo, C