Dream-grower

Here I go again!

I’ve just written my chapter around the “problem” we all face - the why do we need Constructive living. Some of the issue is that we have an auto-pilot that doesn’t serve us in this day-and-age. The other is learned behavior, like the language we use.

My husband is really supportive of my entrepreneurial desires. He recently told me to keep chasing my dreams and he’d be right behind me supporting me. It was so sweet.

But these words lingered in my mind…chasing a dream.

Being the visual person that I am, phrases often immediately create images in my mind. This one had me imagining running after a star, leaping, grabbing, but always coming out empty handed. Then the word “chasing” led me to a recent game of tag experience. I ran and ran, trying different tactics of speed, patience, and strategy, but never actually able to tag someone else. Both these visuals and experiences leave me with empty hands. It’s a cycle of emotions: desire-excitement-effort-exhaustion.

I’m wondering if we shouldn’t change the phrase to growing a dream.

When I grow something, the cycle looks something like this: desire-excitement-cultivation/effort-patience-knowledge/wisdom. Repeat. That feels very different to me. Even as I write this, I feel the smile on my face.

This is the alternative Constructive living offers you.

Imagine your dream as a little tomato plant. You want tomatoes. You’re excited about growing them. You do your research and get to planting. You exert effort then patience. If your tomato plant grows properly, you harvest the fruits of your labor. Dream achieved! If your plant looks dry, gets eaten by insects, doesn’t sprout you use curiosity and creativity to identify why it’s happening and then how you can resolve that issue. And yes you go back to the drawing board, but you also gained knowledge. All your efforts always lead to something: end goal or a little wisdom.

I want to feel like my dreams are possible. Like they are just waiting for me to choose them and nurture them.

Your turn.

What’s something you want? Better health, peace of mind, a new job, a loving partner, or a new house… Maybe it’s a skill? Learn to knit, swim, cook, or speak French…

Quit chasing it and start nurturing it. Love your dream. Cultivate it. Be patient with it (and yourself). Learn from it. Be a dreamcatcher.