Living The Dream

“We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of the dreams.” - Arthur O'Shaughnessy

I was inspired to write about living the dream. In my last post I wrote that, for me, inspiration is the way that things come into being, from non-physical to reality. So here I go following my inspiration.

I often have to remind myself that the life I am living right now was one that I dreamed of years ago. I forget that most days when my mind is so focused on all the things I need to do, the challenges I need to face, and the wrongs I need to right. It is easy for me to get caught up in thinking of the future as well, that is where my thoughts often wonder. I think about how I’ll be happy when things are easier, or when I have a certain amount of money, or when I fall in love again. But this life, this time right now, was at one point the time and place I imagined myself long ago. Back then I used to say to myself, “I’ll be happy when I get to that place in life.” And here I am moving the happiness target to some new point in the future and forgetting that when I get there I will move the target again. It is a never-ending cycle of "when this happens then I’ll finally be happy."

People often talk about how important gratitude is and I completely agree. Gratitude and appreciation for what is are extremely powerful tools in my opinion because it lines you up with good feeling thoughts. Good thoughts lead to good feelings that lead to a positive outlook that in turn lead to inspired action and serendipitous events. Louis Hay said it best I think, she said something to the affect of “have you ever given someone a gift and that person didn’t seem happy with it or wasn’t appreciative, subconsciously you are not going to be thinking about giving them another gift. But someone who is very grateful and loves what you gave them, you want to give them more. You remember that person when you are out and about on your travels and look for the things that will light them up like that again.” Imagine that life is your best friend wanting to give you everything you want but also notices when you are ungrateful for what it gave you last time.

Here is another way I look at it, “I give myself permission to be happy now because today was the day I dreamed of so many years ago.” And it is not just because I am currently on vacation in the Bahamas while writing this but because I have so much to be grateful for. I am breathing, my body has nothing wrong with it, I sleep in a comfortable bed in a safe place, I eat well, I do the work I enjoy, I get to help people every day, I get to teach others what I have learned. However, I drag my past around with me and I often remember the “tough times,” sometimes too often. The times I experienced the most contrast, the most pain, and the most agonizing experiences. I can see that those experiences have created habits of thinking that do not serve me well. And while there is still plenty I would like to create in this life and while there are still things I don’t like in my life today there is so much good that often goes overlooked. I tend to do that in my daily life, my mind chews on problems instead of focusing on the good. The mind can be like that, it is a problem solver and needs problems to solve. Sometimes creating problems where there are none just to keep busy. But today I am telling my mind that there are no problems, there is no real reason to be unhappy. I am tuning to the vibration of gratitude and I appreciate all the good that has come into my life. I am grateful for all the gifts this life has given me.

With all the noise out there, with all the things we could be angry about, with all the problems of the world, inside and out, it is easy to focus on what is wrong. I often feel like if I don’t talk about those problems or put my energy on them then it means I don’t care about them. If I don’t fight back, then all those bad things will just keep persisting. But the bottom line is I don’t like being angry, I like being happy. If I want to be happy more of the time I have to focus on the thoughts and things that make me happy. There is plenty to be angry about but there is also so much to be grateful for. This is the choice we all have minute to minute, hour to hour, and day to day.

No matter where you are in your life, no matter what you are going through you can always find something to be grateful for. Appreciation for what has happened in your life is the way to allow more good things in. Can you give yourself permission to feel joy now even if there are things in your life you don’t like?

Contrary to popular belief there is no happy ending to an unhappy journey.

You might be reading this and thinking, “this life is not the life I dreamed of at all” but that is totally ok. Your life might have a ton of things you perceive as wrong, and that is ok too. Because you still have the power to dream, you have the power to change, you have the power to focus more on what you want and less on what you don’t. You have the power to be grateful for all the good in your life and even have the power to be grateful for all the bad in your life as well. If you can practice gratitude on that level, to say “I am grateful for this thing in my life I do not want because it clearly shows me exactly what I do want,” I am certain your life will change very quickly. Can you begin to appreciate the challenges in your life that make you grow, that make you evolve, that make you become stronger, smarter, and wiser?

Even if you are so far away from the life of your dreams you can’t even remember what it looks like you can still take some time for yourself to keep dreaming. To sit and imagine or sit and write down exactly what you want from this life. You can begin today to take the tiniest of baby steps toward that dream. Even if that step is just allowing yourself to imagine the day when the thing you want shows up and let yourself experience all the emotions that come along with it. If it feels good then keep doing it, if doesn’t then don’t. But never stop dreaming and do whatever it takes to remind yourself that the Universe, God, Source, The Infinite Intelligence, All That Is, The Unseen, Your Higher Self or whatever you want to call it is your best friend and wants you to have all of your dreams. It wants to see your face light up when it gives you those things. And that it has dreams for you that your imagination can’t even fathom.

For me, I remember that I am truly living the dream, my dream from so long ago, and that it is ok to be happy now with what I have. I remember too that I can still dream and that those dreams too will eventually come to be, and it puts a smile on my face. I hope it puts a smile on yours as well.

Good Journey My Friends