Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Joyfully Creates

I tend to hold them closely.  Not daring to utter them even to my soul mate, my dearest friends, or trusted confidants.  I protect them from prying eyes.  Out of fear I guard them.  Believing the lie that if no one knows them they are safe, I am safe.

But every day my eyes fall of the tin sign hanging at my desk.  The one with the quote.  The quote beautifully written and picturesquely designed.  "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." Henry David Thoreau   Confidently?  But if I walk confidently in the direction of my dreams then people will know what they are.  If people know what my dreams are then I become vulnerable.  If I become vulnerable I put myself at risk.  Wouldn't it be better to quietly and secretly crawl towards my dreams?


Living in this false sense of security comes at great cost.  Constructing walls in an attempt to protect myself in fact creates barriers to relationships.  It prohibits authenticity.  It leaves no room for community.

So, I am forced to ask my self what truth will I decide to live by.  Do the benefits of going "confidently in the direction of my dreams"  outweigh the risks of vulnerability and possible failure? As much as my head tells me no, stay safe in your seclusion, my heart tells me YES!  Yes, walk, run, jump "confidently in the direction of your dreams!"  Push past the fear, knowing that in the running and jumping I may fall.  But if I do fall there will be others around to help me get back up and start walking again.

For each of us our dreams take many forms.  From the seemingly small to the astoundingly enormous your dreams matter.  So in that vein, today I would like to share one of my dreams. Joyfully Creates.  As many know one of my passions is knitting.  I could do it all day and all night and not grow tired of it.  Several people have told me that I should try to sell my items, but I have lacked the confidence to pursue this.  What if my things are not good enough?  What of people don't like them?  What if I can't make them fast enough.  What if ...  So, I have nervously laughed and said, yea wouldn't that be great and then promptly done nothing to make this dream a reality.

I have decided that it is time to start going confidently in the direction of my dreams.  Joyfully Creates is the name of the knitting business of my dreams.  I am not 100% sure what that will look like yet.  But I do know that I need to throw off the fears and the "what ifs".  Instead embracing confidence and community and the possibilities that lie ahead.


Will you join me in walking confidently?  Will you start to dream and share and become who you were made to be?  What would your world look like if you did?


6 comments:

  1. Proud of you for saying it loud, to us! Sometimes we just need a little nudge or push to make ourselves move. We all know how wonderful your business can and will be, and by proclaiming that you dream it to happen, I know that it will for you.

    When I was young, my dream and life goal was to cure AIDS. It was the 90's. It was important. I was sure I could do it. I told everyone I was going to do it. Did it happen? Obviously, no. Ahhhh, look at what becomes of us as we age and become mothers. Our dreams fade and meld into sharing life with our family, worrying only about others and never ourselves, our success, our important goals.

    Thank you, Anne, for reminding us that it's great to have dreams. My former dream pushed me to become who I was as a young adult, and although it was not fulfilled, it reminds me of how to encourage my children to pursue their own goals.

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    1. Thanks Elizabeth! Thank you also for sharing your dream. Our dreams and goals can shape us in so many ways. Even though it may not be fulfilled in the way that you may have imagined, it molded you into who you are today. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. How exciting, Anne!!! You go, girl!!! :) Love you!!

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  3. Hi Anne, I understand where you're coming from and first I'll just say as a wise person told me, "Pray about it, God will help you in your decision." Remember, Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Also, another quote that means a lot to me is by Barbara Johnson, "We spend our lives dreaming of the future, not realizing that a little bit of it slips away every day."
    You are a beautiful writer and because I see your strengths, I would say, GO for it!
    Love,
    Mom W.

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