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Sunday, October 27, 2013
Realistic Dreams
The cardinal is glowing red against the winter snow.
It perches in the ash tree outside the window, glorious in its vibrant life, unaware of a watcher. A deer jumps the
fence, crosses over to the bird feeder, and laps up huge numbers of black oiler sunflower seeds. He uses his tongue
like a giraffe, the seeds painted on his tongue like a black coat of paint. The cardinal flies down to eat seeds at
the deer’s feet, his wings flashing red in the sunlight. He is oblivious of implied danger as he sits near the sharp
hooves, finding bounty in the spilled feast. Behind these two lies the winter lawn, landscaped by wind and snow into
strange white sculptures, decorated with the black lace of intertwined bare branches of deciduous trees and the white shawled
green branches of evergreens.
As I watch, I reflect on nature, beauty, and life. How often we
focus on the negative aspects of a season. We listen to the weather man go on about wind chills and Alberta Clippers.
We receive e-mails and letters from the Arizona snowbirds telling us about their 80 degree sunny days of golf and basking.
We see the snowplows driving their grimy sand and salt-filled loads up unto our lawns. We forget to see, feel, and enjoy
the positive aspects of our environment. From there we go to thinking of our lives as drab, depressing, and meaningless.
Many of our disappointments in life result from unrealistic expectations, in not being rooted firmly
in the here and now, and in not being aware of the gifts of beauty we receive each day in our environment and in the people
in our lives. Expectations can be either negative or positive and either way can produce
stress and unhappiness. Dreams and the imagination are very important in life, and life would be very boring if we didn’t
set goals based on our dreams for ourselves, but we need to prepare to fulfill those dreams by understanding ourselves, our
skills, talents, and energy levels. Each day can bring us a step closer to fulfilling our goals or dreams if we are
realistic about how much time we have in this 24 hours, how much effort needs to be expended in this 24 hours, and what specific
skills need to be employed in this 24 hours. We don’t have endless hours in each day: We need to meet our
needs for sleep, health, relating to our friends and family, and our needs for recreation.
Take the time to assess your skills and talents. Take the time to set your dreams and goals down on paper and
to examine them in the light of money, resources, time needs, energy needs, and a realistic time table for achievement.
Then work on them one day at a time and one step at a time.
Next, set about enjoying each 24 hours
as a gift to be appreciated in little ways: the joy of breaking your fast with a well-balanced breakfast; the beauty of nature
all around you as you drive to work, the greetings of fellow employees and family members who appreciate your presence, your
work itself - whatever it is, it’s worth doing and it’s worth doing well.
Expect the
miracles, live your dreams, but remember that the seasons come and go. We welcome the sun, the rain, the snow. The birds fly
back, the seeds start to grow, and the trees bloom in green . We begin to live fully as we explore the world around us. Be
open to reality; it comes bearing gifts.
12:10 pm est
Sunday, May 6, 2012
ReverieReverie as Therapy
Closing one’s eyes and journeying within takes
us into reverie, into that place where our spirit resides, into that place that speaks to us in the voice of a higher power,
into the joy in life that nourishes us each and every day.
You
need to carve out a chunk of time for yourself during a busy week. Find your favorite place to sit, then gaze
at one of the paintings hanging in your room that you usually overlook; or find a flower to study and smell; or study your
little bit of nature that may be outside your window or flourishing in a pot that you faithfully water every week. As
you relax, let your cares, responsibilities, and tensions drain away into a contemplation of the form, shape, texture, and
structure of the concrete object you have chosen.
Now close your eyes and dream. Explore images of
your personal life as they flash before you on the screen of your mind. Choose a moment in time where you felt joy,
happiness, or fulfillment. Perhaps you planted a flower, wrote a poem, created a perfect dance step with a partner,
or kneaded and shaped a perfect loaf of bread! Maybe you sat at the bedside of a sick friend, or carried a box
of groceries to a needy family.
Even though your present day may be full of inboxes of
irritation and outboxes of half-completed tasks , these few minutes of reverie, this calling up of moments of joy, of the
things in life that bring fulfillment and happiness, can refresh you and give you the momentum to continue your day, to share
your life with others, and to bring your mind back to the work at hand.
You may have to fight the
old voices in your head that cry out, “Stop daydreaming!” You may have to forego that cup of caffeine-loaded
beverage that you usually rely on to help you forge your way against time. But give up some of the tension-producing
teeth-gritting that many use to make it to five o’clock and the trip to the parking lot.
Take
a moment from the stream of time, and let reverie take you to a meadow filled with butterflies, clover, and contentment!
Life’s joys await you.
9:38 am est
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