Dream Work

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting —

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

~ Mary Oliver, excerpted from “Wild Geese,” in Dream Work

Dream work is not about fantasizing.  It’s about actually living your life to its fullest and being the best that you can be in this world, whatever “your place in the family of things.”

It’s called work for a reason:  if it were easy to live your dreams, everyone would do it. But it takes courage and the ability to challenge yourself constantly to be better than who you are now.  Here are five things you can do as you move through your life:

  1. Ask simple questions and let the answer emerge naturally;
  2. Take risks by asking: “What if I get what I want?”;
  3. Reinvent yourself on a regular basis;
  4. Keep learning, or as W.E.Deming said, “Learning is not compulsory but neither is survival;” and
  5. Simplify your life because less can be more.

If you do these things, you will find yourself connecting to your intentions, whether you want to finish a book, be of service to others, raise competent and responsible children, become more skilled as a teacher or presenter, or just be at peace with yourself.

 


Remember, if you have a dream, you work toward realizing it by making a plan.

If you don’t have a plan in place, your dream is nothing more than a fantasy.

 

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