Don't Quit Your Daydream
Happy Friday, lovely. This morning, I want to start our chat with a quick story about daydreams, big dreamers, and the magic that’s available for us all ~ especially for those of us responsible for the care and feeding of big dreams and big dreamers.
Earlier this week I was searching song lists on Instagram when I ran across a song that made me buzz from head to toe. I had been worrying for weeks over two things in my personal life — a change that needed to happen for one of my kiddos related to his art, school, and career options, and the fact that I’d recently accepted an invitation to speak at two conferences this summer (TWO!) and one was overseas (in Amsterdam!!).
I listened to the song again and again. And the longer I listened, the more it felt like the heavens had opened up and spoken a specific answer to every question swirling inside of me ~ something I couldn’t wait to share with the big dreamer inside of you, too.
The song is called Daydream by Lily Meola (you can listen to it here). It goes like this (lyrics to Daydream by Lily Meola below, emphasis mine). . .
When we were kids in the backyard
Playing astronauts and rockstars
No one told us to stop it
Called us unrealistic
Then suddenly, you're eighteen
Go to college for your plan B
What you want is too risky
Live for weekends and whiskeyWe all got these big ideas
One day, they're replaced with fears
How did we get here?Darlin', don't quit your daydream
It's your life that you're making
It ain't big enough if it doesn't scare the hell out of you
If it makes you nervous
It's probably worth it
Why save it for sleep when you could be living your daydream?Thirty-one, waiting tables
She has the voice of an angel
Out of money and power
She only sings in the shower
All these things we say we'll get to
Shot down by the reasons not toDarlin', don't quit your daydream
It's your life that you're making
It ain't big enough if it doesn't scare the hell out of you
If it makes you nervous
It's probably worth it
Why save it for sleep when you could be living your daydream?So scared of failure that we fail to try
Turnin' around before the finish line
Gotta fall for a minute before you can flySo daydream
It's your life that you're making
It ain't big enough if it doesn't scare the hell out of you
If it makes you nervous
It's probably worth it
Why save it for sleep when you could be living your daydream?Why save it for sleep when you should be living your daydream?
~ Daydream by Lily Meola lyrics
Which leads me to ask you one question. . .
What is your daydream?
Who did you want to be when you were a kid? What did you play at becoming? Who did you say you were going to be when you were 8, 12, 16, 18, 21? What kinds of things did you dream about doing with your life?
Is there some part of your dream you’re doing today?
As a little girl, I wanted to be someone who took care of babies. As a kid, I wanted desperately to be a doctor. As a teenager, that dream morphed into becoming a medical missionary who traveled the world helping people and giving them hope. These days, I know myself enough to know I’m not cut out to run a daycare, my stomach is far too weak to do anything in the medical field, and the hope I want to give people doesn’t fall in the missionary bucket anymore, which leads me to this most important question. . .
What is the essence of what you’ve wanted all this time?
The essence of who I wanted to be with all those dreams is this — Someone who helps people grow and travels the world as a helper with a gigantic, authentic smile on her face. It shocked me this week to realize how freakin’ amazing it is that I get to do that every single day. I don’t hop on a plane every day, but thanks to the work I do in my little home office, my face can be seen on a Zoom screen any given week helping philanthropy teams in California, Georgia, Toronto, New Jersey, New York, and sometimes even overseas (which is something that didn’t even exist when I was a kid). Not to mention that on Friday mornings I get to send emails, publish blogs, and plan wellness retreats that are helping women thrive all over the world. And sometimes (like this summer), I also get to physically travel to conferences and summits to help people in person!
This week I’ve been recognizing how lucky I am to be able to say that, and I’m beyond grateful. What about you. . .
Is there some part of what you’re doing right now that’s related to that thing younger you dreamed of?
And if not, is there a chance some small part of that dream can creep into your daily routine this weekend?
Maybe you sing like an angel and love how you feel when you’re doing it, so you go on an extra little drive today and belt out your songs, which leads you to sign up for that voice lesson or community choir you’ve been eyeing.
Maybe you wanted to be a clown when you were little and while that dream went out the door a long time ago, you make your friends laugh all the time ~ in fact, you’ve been thinking about inviting them over and you’re about to do that right now.
Maybe you wanted to be an artist and while you don’t do that full-time right now, you get to design beautiful flowcharts at work ~ and come to think of it, you’re going to sign up for that painting class or buy that kiln or start that Paint & Sip club you’ve been thinking about.
I’m here to tell you something ~
Not only do you not have to quit your daydream, you also don’t have to blow up your life to go after it. Sometimes you really can have it both ways.
As you can tell, so many of my own dreams involve traveling to new places. I can’t really explain this ~ all I can do is recognize that’s my dream and lean into it as often as I can.
Which leads to my new favorite book genre . . . Travel guides ✈️ 🧳 🗺️
If you’re anything like my family, I know what you’re thinking ~ “People don’t need travel guides anymore—that’s what the supercomputers in our pockets are for!”
But hear me out ~ I’ve never traveled overseas solo before. And since I’m usually a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl, I’m not exactly the best navigator when I do travel solo. So, as soon as I knew I’d be traveling to Amsterdam by myself this summer to speak at a conference, I knew I’d need to do some research. And since I’m on the computer approximately ten million hours per day right now, I wanted to do that research with physical (real paper) books.
Once I started reading the first one, I couldn’t stop buying them ~ and I quickly discovered a few important benefits to travel guides. They’re great for four incredible things:
1 — Clarity
Catching a specific vision for your big travel dreams is critical. Since everything that now exists in real life first existed in someone’s mind, if you’re someone who wants to take your sister to Paris for her 40th birthday or visit Italy with your mother-in-law, it’s helpful to know exactly what that looks like. And I’m here to tell you, nothing can give you that vision quite like a physical travel guide can.
2 — Familiarity
Familiarizing yourself with place names and street locations before you arrive can really help, especially when you’re traveling to a place whose people don’t share a first language with you.
3 — Excitement
Getting excited by all the beautiful photos of a place helps calm that nervous feeling in your belly that bubbles up when you’re doing something you’ve never done before.
4 — No distractions
Not having to deal with distractions the way you would if you were looking at all of this on your supercomputer smartphone is the icing on the cake.
Wherever you are this morning, whatever’s on your to-do list, I hope this little story about daydreams, big dreamers, and the magic that’s available for us sparks something in your soul. (& if travel happens to be one of your big dreams too, I have a whole treasure trove of travel inspiration in a big link list on the blog)
Most importantly, I hope this little message lets you know one thing:
This life you’re making is yours alone and you can make it whatever you want to, my dear ~ no limits.
Don’t quit, my friend. Dream on.
💛
Dreaming right here with you,
Celeste
