Читать книгу The Wisdom of Wildflowers - Heather Robbins - Страница 7

Spring is well underway. Baby animals are appearing all over the countryside while their anxious mothers hover nervously nearby. New leaves are sprouting from awakening trees, painting the horizon a brilliant lime green. A light breeze slips silently through the azure sky, caressing my cheek with the softness of a downy feather.

Springing up from the tender loam where I am standing is a Shooting Star, stretching with all its might and resolve towards the glorious heavens. Vivid pink-colored petals lay back from bright-yellow, tube-like stamens. The stem is a delicate pale-green thread, surrounded by several lance-shaped leaves at its base. This little blossom looks so precious as it reaches up into the warm embrace of the sky.

How many times have I made a wish after catching a fleeting glimpse of a shooting star as it blazed across the night sky, and searched my heart for what I most desired at that point in time. I have wished for so many things, dreamed of so many things. And although I cannot say all my dreams and wishes have come true, I still believe it is so very important to continue to have these yearnings, to dream and set goals for the future we desire for ourselves.

Where would we be if we stopped dreaming? What would our world look like? Dreams are not silly, insignificant thoughts to be dismissed when the blinding light of reality descends. They are very important to our overall well-being. I cannot imagine that our species would have evolved as it did if people stopped pursuing their dreams. Sometimes it is even enough to simply have the dreams, and to let our sentimental thoughts slip into a world of fantasy where we set the pace and make the rules. These dreams are fun and nourishing to our soul. They are like mini-vacations of the mind—there to enjoy and bring us pleasure.

However, there are some dreams that do not belong in the fantasy world, and should be brought into the light of day where they can be turned into reality. Of course, this then requires setting goals whereby if the dream is the vision, the goal is the tangible outcome of that vision. If the dream is to be a teacher, then the goal is to get an education degree and land a teaching job. If the dream is to swim alongside a giant tortoise, the goal is to save enough money to take a trip to the Galapagos Islands.

Because turning dreams into reality is not always easy, many will not even attempt to pursue their heartfelt yearnings. Instead, they perceive all the obstacles in the way and give up before they even get started. There are those who are just not up to putting in the time and effort to pursue their dreams, and some will begin, but then lose heart and decide there’s no point in continuing.

No one ever said achieving a dream was easy. In fact, most people who are living their dreams today had to go to great lengths to get there, and put in a lot of work, time, and energy before they achieved their goals. Many even had to make tremendous sacrifices. We usually just see the end result of their labors, and then desire that for ourselves. We do not always see and appreciate the long and sometimes arduous journey they had to travel in order to make their dreams a reality.

It can be extremely difficult to muster up the strength to turn the dream of being a teacher into a reality when one is a single parent with a full-time job and a Grade 10 education. But regardless of where we are in life at the moment, in order to turn our dream into a reality we need to first believe we deserve it, and that we have what it takes to achieve it. Once we know this, once we have that belief in ourselves and know that God is ever present to guide us, the next step is researching what it will take to turn that dream into a reality.

What is the first step? What is the first goal that needs to be achieved? When we look at the expanse of time and work that may be necessary to fulfill our dreams, it can be overwhelming. However, by breaking things up into manageable bits and taking one step at a time, with determination and perseverance, we will get there in the end. It is also important to have reasonable expectations about timelines and accomplishments when undertaking this endeavor. But by holding onto the dream and using it as a guiding light, and trusting God is by our side, our spirit will be buoyed by our energy and enthusiasm, keeping us moving forward when we hit those inevitable roadblocks.

It is so important to mark every step, celebrate every achievement regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem, and we must take care to not let any negative thoughts pull us off course. Negative messages are just tiresome transcripts that we have been feeding ourselves for far too long. They have no place in our glorious future and we must not give them any attention. It is also important to surround ourselves with people and resources that will support and encourage us along the way. Negativity from anywhere, whether internal or external, will make the journey that much more difficult.

Imagine what living our dream would feel like. Do we not deserve to have that in our lives? Is that not what God wants for us? And yes, it could take years to reach our goal, but the longer we delay in taking that first step, the longer it will be before our dream is a reality. By actively pursuing our dreams, regardless of how much time or effort we can devote to it at this moment, it enlivens the spirit and makes the hours, days, and even years slip by a little easier.

There is only one difference between the woman who is not living her dream and the one who is. The woman living her dream faced all the demons, jumped through all the hoops, and persevered until she got what and where she wanted. In other words, she went for it, and we can do that, too.

Let us honor our dreams and set goals for our glorious future. Let us take charge and make the necessary decisions to have the life we deserve. And like the Shooting Star tells us, let us aim high and expect the best.