POSSIBILITIES: Dream about them, Wonder about them, Take action
Everything has two ways to look at it. Sad way: People are stuck at home, they are losing their jobs, life is changing, the world is no fun any more. Happy way: We are lucky to be living in this amazing time where we can find new ways to be with our family, find new ways of being useful and productive and find new ways to have fun and make ourselves happy.
For every job that is being lost and company that is closing down, there are so many new and exciting things that can happen– things we don’t even know about yet. For every family separated by distance and hugs there are people learning the value of “playing” in your own backyard. It took Dorothy a tornado– and maybe it took you a pandemic– to realize there really is “no place like home.”
We have two choices: sit at home and feel sorry for ourselves, or bloom and thrive at home and dream of possibilities.
Sometimes it takes cleaning the house and getting rid of clutter, moving the furniture around, painting a wall, or doing some yard work to make our homes feel new and exciting, but we can do it. It doesn’t always take a big expensive make-over, the smallest things can give us a new outlook. Of course I would love to have all new window treatments, but instead I switched out the curtains in one room and it really made a difference. I planted some flowers right outside my back door so every morning I look outside and I’m greeted with the vibrant colors of my flowers– and I say “Great day in the mornin’!”
When we feel happy about our surroundings (or even a little area we choose to make happy), we can then dream about all the possibilities that life holds for us. The swing in the picture is hanging from a tree in the yard across the street from me. The woman who put it up is from Greece and says she put it up so when she swings on it it reminds her of her childhood back home. And as she swings she feels so free and happy. She feels the comfort of her past and dreams about what is ahead of her.
Possibilities are all the things that really could happen. First we must dream about them. Really open our minds to our possibilities. It’s like getting on a swing. Sometimes we think we are too old to swing or we just don’t think about it, but once we are full fledge pumping on a swing and feeling the breeze on our face as the world goes back and forth we feel free.
Swinging on a swing is a feeling of freedom that it’s hard to top, but dreaming of all the things you have ahead of you can be just as freeing. You think of things you would love to do– that’s dreaming. Then you wonder: hmmm could this really be possible? Do I want this enough to go for it? And if the answer turns out to be yes, you take action.
Taking action doesn’t mean jumping in with no background. If it’s something big, this is the stage where you determine if you should do it. Sometimes an idea is not right for us at a certain time and we should not feel our dreams have been crushed, they may just be postponed.
And a dream does not have to be huge. Sometimes we don’t even have a dream or a passion, sometimes when we are going through a tough time we are just trying to make it through the day– and that’s ok. But don’t give up on your dreams. Get on a swing– or even just take a walk– and think of all the possibilities of things you can do with the time you have left in your life.
We don’t come with expiration dates on us. Some of us may have been told we have a disease and we only have so much time to live. Well that’s more time than anyone else has because we can all walk out in front of a car at any time– so don’t let any “time limit” get in front of your possibilities.
Bible Verse
“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’” — Matthew 19:26
Quote
“We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.” –Dale Carnegie
(How are you going to find out about those possibilities? Dream about them.)
Action Plan
- If it’s possible– once the pandemic is over– go to a local park and swing on a swing. If you haven’t done it in a while you will remember how wonderful it is.
- Do something else that makes you feel free– take a walk, plant some flowers, take a warm bath with epsom salts and turn off your phone.
- Make a list of all the things you are complaining about during this pandemic. What are things you are mad about or upset about.
- On another page make a list of the things that you could do that would make you happy. Be sure to include trips you want to take even if you can’t take them now. Think of all the possibilities. When we stop dreaming, life gets pretty boring but if we keep dreaming with a heart full of wonder then the world is exciting and we feel free.
- Now make a list of what you will do today and tomorrow that is something added this week that will make you or someone else happy. Bake someone a cake? Call someone who makes you laugh. Buy something at the Dollar Store that you probably would not have bought.
One Last Thought
If you are in a situation where you don’t dream, you are just scraping to get by every day, or if you are so overwhelmed by a sickness or a situation– don’t forget that God is with you every day. You may not be noticing him lately, but he is knocking on your door. No it’s not that door, not the door you always use, where it’s so easy to pass Him by. It’s the door you aren’t even thinking of. It may be a quiet knock, because your world has gotten so loud, but there it is… tap, tap tap. “I’m here for you. I love you. If you have forgotten about me or think I’ve forgotten you, I haven’t– I’ve been here all the time and I want to wrap my loving arms around you my child. I love you and I have so many possibilities waiting ahead for you. Start dreaming again.”