In my dreams I make dresses, I bake cakes, I am calm with my children, I look put together, I have long wavy hair, and I make my bed every morning. Those aren't terribly outlandish dreams, I think, so why can't they be my reality? I've decided to be more deliberate with my choices. I love the idea of imagining how I want my life to look, and then making it happen. I saw a pin a while back that said "Decide what to be and go be it." Isn't that fantastic? This comes naturally to people like Mike. He has always been good at knowing what he wanted in life, and then working to make it a reality. It is something I have always admired about him. I tend to be part of the "wait and see" crowd, but I have lately realized that there is a better way to live.
And so each morning I make my bed and my day is instantly brighter. I rise early and get ready for the day before it gets away from me. I send my children off to school with a hug and a smile. I skip hair cuts and give in to my cake cravings. I challenge myself to sew and sew and sew some more.
It is not as if these changes happen overnight. I don't always look put together, and sometimes I lose my patience, but because I have decided how I want my life to look, making choices that head me in the right direction become easier.
And so, little by little, my life has started to look like my dreams, and I am happy.
What do your dreams look like?
Posts
Steph. You are so special and I love you.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a "wait and see" girl! I wish I knew what I truly wanted in life. I need to figure out what my dreams are beyond marriage and family.
ReplyDeleteThat saying is from an Avett brothers song. And it's so true.
ReplyDeleteWorking on the same thingsin my life too.
:)
I've read your blog for a while now but I don't think I've commented. I think your sister knows my sister Phoebe somehow...anyway I found it and stayed!
ReplyDeleteI'm commenting now because I love this and am totally on this wavelength these days. This post, along with your post about Sister Beck's advice from an old BYU talk, have totally helped me. So--thanks, from a stranger!
i'm with eliza, and going through this process also. i've read a lot lately about postive thinking and faith, and they both are incredibly important to live the life i want. instead of waking up every morning beating myself up for what i did/didn't do yesterday, i am trying to envision how my day will go today (and then praying for help of course). it's amazing!
ReplyDeleteyou are inspiring in the least! and i'm grateful for your honesty.
this is like your personal "the big orange splot!" you are your dresses and your dresses are you and they look like all your dreams. he! :) love you steph.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blot or a few years now and I have never commented, that is a beautiful way to think, we often get caught up in the everyday mundane that we forget about the beauty in the small things. I am a stay at home mum and recently decided to go the whole hog, to bake our bread sew our clothes and whatever else with gusto. It makes suck a difference to my day.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fun, thought-provoking post.
ReplyDelete(random, but I really like your hair long - loved it shorter too!)
Dreams. I have such a hard time dreaming or even giving time to dreams. For 29 years I've dreamed of being a wife and mother. Clearly not God's will. That's a hard dream to let go of at age 41. I do still have some hope.
Right now I dream of walking well. I injured both legs last week and haven't been able to run for over a week. I love to exercise. So, right now my dream is simple. To walk/run/hike without pain. I have hope.
Thank you for posting this. I am a long time reader, but rarely comment (not even sure how I stumbled across this little gem in the blog world). I have similar "dreams" as yours, and like you...they are rarely reality. I am working on it, slowly. But I have a hard time with the discipline of it. I will literally decide on doing something one minute (i.e eat healthy) and then the next minute impulsively decide to eat pizza...it's so confusing how my mind contradicts itself! Good to know someone else is out there working on it also. I have a new resolve thanks to this post.
ReplyDeleteP.S- Just wanted to let you know that I "pinned" your onesie dress tutorial awhile back and it has been pinned like crazy! Yay.
ReplyDeleteAmy B.
www.20minutemom.com
one of my dreams lately as been to hem my jeans, and i finally just did thanks to you! and i love them!
ReplyDeleteI love this. I am trying to do less so that I can be more. Your words are inspiring as always.
ReplyDeletei liked this steph... i wish i could get all the things i wanted done. but i read you blog and really feel you have it all. your a great person.
ReplyDeletePitch perfect. You've said, so eloquently, what I'm sure so many of us moms feel. WE create our lives - our own and, for now, our children's. Great post, you have such a lovely blog! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis so resonates with me. (Big smile). A couple of years ago I made a "dream life" chart & wrote down everything I wanted in my life. Each month I would review it to see where I was. I realized I had nearly all those things, I just didn't realize it, because they didn't manifest themselves in exactly the way I expected. And the more I reviewed my list the more things those things I didn't have or wasn't doing came into my life surprisingly quickly.
ReplyDeleteAfter a major health crisis last year I did my dream life list again and cut it back from 33 items to 11 . Realized a lot of things I liked were not really THAT important.
I love the feeling you are having, living your dreams. It's the best. I wish for people who lack hope and joy in their lives to connect with this feeling because it is available to everyone one of us, if we will just look for it, in simple ways in our lives.
What a beautiful post! I've been thinking about it since I read it a few days ago and it's really made me analyze what I want in life and what my "perfect" life looks like. I'm far from there, but I'm walking in the right direction and that makes me happy. I love your blog, thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI love this, Stephanie. I have been thinking about a similar idea alot lately. It really is about deciding and then committing yourself to go, do and therefore BE isn't it. Thanks for this. I love the way your write. It is so soothing and bolstering at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI'm back again on this post, one of my favorites of all time. I'm using for the second time in a relief society lesson. Thanks for the wise words.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your article Stephanie, thank you. Deciding, committing and then to be. This is a model I have used many times in my life and nearly every time, it has worked.
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