A dream latched itself to my heart, and it just wouldn’t let go.
All through those years, when there was only one and then only two and then three while we waited for four and five, I held my dream in desperate hands, but I never took one step closer to it.
And then, one day, when I was still a mother of five littles and I was still a full-time employee and my responsibilities at home still saddled my back, that dream shook me by the shoulders and said, Now.
I tried to argue, because there was laundry to do and there were pages to design and there were children screaming about milk and hungry and the bathroom’s locked and I need to go potty, but that dream would not listen this time.
It burned like a wildfire in my heart, and it would consume everything if I did not heed its heat this time, so I made my plans and began my pursuit instead of turning away and feeling the backside blister.
And it wasn’t easy, because I saw the end: book, and I wanted to be there yesterday, but writing a book doesn’t happen in a day or even a few days or a month, at least it couldn’t for me, and the most valuable piece of it all was I learned that slow was OK.
It was still a dream.
So what if it took me 365 days instead of the 90 all those books claim is possible? It was no less an accomplishment, just because it took many more days.
And at the end of it, at the finish of those 365 days writing, sometimes only producing trash, sometimes producing something salvageable, sometimes producing a masterpiece, my dream flexed and breathed and folded itself into a book.
So I want you to know it’s possible, that dream in your heart.
Even if it’s crazy.
Even if it’s been too many years since you said hello.
Even if you have forgotten you ever had a dream in the first place.
It’s possible. Keep dreaming, dreamer.
And then do.
(This piece is the intro to my book I Dreamed a Dream: Chasing Your Dreams When Your Dreams Feel Impossible, which is available for free when you sign up for my e-mail newsletter, sent out every other Friday. Sign up here.)
Welcome to The Ink Well Creative Community.
The Ink Well Community is evolving. While this used to be a place where I posted a prompt for writers to share their creative works, I have been receiving several inquiries about my process, how I create and read and manage a household with half a dozen little ones. So I thought we could turn this into a community of people who share about the creative process in all its many facets, from where we find our inspiration to when we find time to create (especially if we work other jobs). I’ll be sharing struggles about my creative life and logistical information about my particular creative process and what I’m learning about creativity, among many other things. I hope you’ll weigh in with your own struggles and observations and lessons. Let’s start a conversation. Let’s encourage one another. Let’s live the creative life together.
And if you have your own questions about creativity or process or inspiration, feel free to visit my contact page and send me a note.
I can totally relate! I’m at THAT place right now in my life. It’s so good to know that I’m not alone 🙂
It’s not easy, but it’s SO worth it. Our dreams are never handed to us…but that’s part of what makes them so precious, because we have to work so hard at them! You are definitely not alone. Keep dreaming, dreamer!
Follow that dream!
Yes!