What Do You Wish To Enjoy

Wishcasting Wednesday with Jamie Ridler Studios:
What Do You Wish To Enjoy?

Today I am here, but not. Oh sure, my physical body may be right where its expected to be, but my soul is in a completely different place. While my body is feverishly working on an extremely frustrating project at work and trying to multitask better than the rest of them, my soul is safe and calm and content somewhere else. Perhaps a coffee shop. Or maybe a book store. Wherever my soul has wandered, it's delighting in the research of a new feature story idea, tenderly holding a newly created journal, rapidly sketching out the bones of a new workshop curriculum, blissfully reading a book...it's doing something that speaks to my talents, my creativity, my gifts and my uniqueness.

And it's in that division, the floating in between the thing that no longer fits the way it once did and the anticipation in arriving at the thing I cannot wait to do, that keeps me moving forward. It's there that I find the motivation to move closer to the day when I can finally and truly say, "I enjoy my work."

And on that day, I'll enjoy my work not because it provides a six-figure salary, or allows me to sign my name with a string of letters and abbreviations after it, or lands me a corner office with a window or is what others have said they always thought I'd be.

No, on that day I will say,
"I enjoy my work because it is a reflection of my soul."

Wishcasting Wednesday: Feed the Hunger

"Look at all my new friends!"

This is the story my parents tell me about the morning they took me to my very first day of kindergarten. Filled with wide-eyed hope and enthusiasm for this next chapter in my little 5-year-old life, I saw a playground scattered with dozens of children and assumed each and every one would be my friend.

Not long after that, I remember my mom arranging my first playdate with the little boy from class, Jason, who would become my "very bestest" grade school buddy. On the first day of first grade, Patty and I sat next to each other and by recess we were inseparable. Jeremy was my not-so-secret crush in second grade. He, Jason and I spent hours playing on the bike trail near Jeremy's house or climbing the large blue spruce in my backyard.

As a child, new friendships seemed to enter life effortlessly. Sure, the friendships changed with different classroom assignments, moves, new schools and after school activities. But there always seemed to be someone to call to see a movie or wander the mall or simply hang out. Last night, I found myself invited not to a movie or a mall or a conversation, but a one-on-one pity party...with yours truly.

And it all started with a stupid television commercial.

Whenever I see a commercial or television show depicting a group of closely knit women, a part of me cringes inside. I've never had that. Sure, I have friends. I even have a couple of really good friends I know I could call at 3 am if need be. This isn't a sob story about a poor little girl sitting alone in the corner. But that inseparable group from high school, the college clique, the former roomies—all were experiences I never inhabited. And a piece of me can't help but grieve over those unknown experiences, especially when I try to figure out what I gained from living alone during college, or moving back home upon graduation to reclaim my role as "child" instead of spreading my wings, dealing with roommates, navigating the dating scene and living out the life of every other normal early 20-something.

I'd like to say I can see the silver lining in the situation, staying true to Stepping Stones Studio's mission of celebrating life's under-noticed, under-celebrated moments. I'd like to say that because of what I lost I gained deeper relationships with family members and a better understanding of myself. And I suppose I did to some extent, but not enough to offset the loss I feel whenever I see a group of BFFs laughing and smiling.

And so when Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios asked on this week's Wishcasting Wednesday, "What hunger do you wish to feed?" the answer was automatic. I wish to feed the hunger for deep, lasting authetic friendships. I believe you can never have enough friends, but I want friendships and relationships that go deeper than simply being a friend by proxy or the friend someone calls when everyone else on the list is busy. And, like so many things, feeding this hunger starts with me.

It starts by calling a friend to celebrate their magic and ask how they are instead of calling to simply complain about myself and moan about my problems. It starts by making time in my schedule to be available and open to opportunities to see a movie, wander the mall or just hang out, not fitting them in when I have a couple of minutes to spare, but only after I've reschedule one or two other obligations.  Feeding the hunger for deeper, more authentic relationships starts by being more aware of what I am sending out into the world through my actions and words, and what I really want to receive in return.

www.bysararae.com

The Desires of Your Heart

There is a poem that sits on my desk at work. I use it as a tool to center myself when the corporate trenches try pull my tender creative spirit down into their murky depths of false personas, ambiguous corporate speak and mind-spinning multitasking. I'm not certain who wrote the poem. It isn't attributed, but I thank the author for penning words that go directly onto my heart.

The Desire of Your Heart

Deep inside of you there is a well.
A deep well filled with dreams, visions, and ideas.

Thoughts of who you are, of what you will become,
of what you have dreamt about your entire life;
aching to come out, to be heard.

Today, I can promise you that if you listen to those things,
they will become you...
Because they are you.
They are the essence of what you were born to do,
who you were born to be.

So today I ask that you listen, and believe.

That still small voice inside of you of whispering.

It's called your destiny.

And today you will find it, 

because it has already found you.

It's time.

Close out the noise and distractions surrounding you for just a moment. Even a few seconds. What still small voice of whisperings is calling you?

Do you hear it?

Sometimes, when the verbal or written words to what our heart truly longs for cannot be heard, it helps to turn to visual images. Vision boards, dream boards, intention boards, goal boards...call them by any of those names, their mission remains the same. These delightful collages are created by creative dreamers everywhere to strike a chord within them, to wake up their innermost dreams that are stirring somewhere but have not been named just yet.

Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios is celebrating these dream boards today, having asked her readers to create a dream board celebrating this month's full moon, the Wolf Moon. The board I created this past weekend as part of her A Year of Dreams teleworkshop is below.  (And if you're in the southeastern Wisconsin area, I encourage you to check out the Vision Board workshops through Point of You taking place this weekend and next!)

Many of the images I picked because I thought they held a particular meaning. Some I simply liked. But as I've viewed and journaled about my dream board this week, I'm finding deeper meanings to some of the images. Large, grand, almost scary dreams of what could be if I'd only try. Other images that didn't have specific meaning originally are taking shape. And still, some are simply there because I think they're pretty.

Are you feeling stuck. Is there a deep-seeded wish inside your heart. A whisper? It's called your destiny. It's found you. Now let it out. Create a dream board. It's time.

www.bysararae.com

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish to Renew

I love setting goals. I love making lists. And I really love to watch as I check things off of both. Most recently (as in this past Sunday) I completed my goal of running 5 marathons before I turn 30 and with it checked off my goal of running a sub-4 hour marathon.


But where I have a bit of a problem is making those lists too long or striving toward too many goals simultaneously. As a result, I spin in circles like the Tasmanian Devil. and several things just sit on the list to act more like a reminder of where I've failed than what I am becoming.

So this week, and this year, I want to renew my focus. I want to be comfortable with letting certain dreams sit while I tend to others. I want to eat foods and pursue a lifestyle that helps clear my mind and body of the clutter. I want to feel the clarity and calm that comes with being on target. Being focused. No more jumping from one thing, then another, then back again. No more multitasking. Just one step at a time.

Wishcasting Wednesday: One Step

It's Wednesday (barely, but it still is), and that means it's time for wishing. Today Jamie Ridler of Jamie Ridler Studios asks, "What do you wish for in the New Year?"

My mind raced as I thought of the extensive list of goals I always start to mentally jot down as the clock ticks down to the New Year. Which one would I pick for this post?

Save more. Spend less.
Give more. Take less.
Practice contentment.
Clear the clutter.
Submit those picture book manuscripts. (Finally.)
Create (and stick to) a more regular blog posting schedule.
Pitch a minimum of one magazine article idea per week.
Reconnect with God.
Nag my husband less.
Listen to my body.
Watch less TV. Read more books.
Resist trying to do it all.
Develop SMART goals for Re.Told Journals.
Develop SMART goals for Stepping Stone Studio's creativity workshops.
Reinvent my career.
Live intentionally, not fearfully.
Grow out my hair. (My hair has never been longer than my shoulders.)
Live authentically.
Be quiet. Listen more.
Drink more water.
Get to bed earlier.
Stick to a clean eating lifestyle.
Sit down and write already!
Get in the best shape of my life...not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Soon, the list had me feeling more exhausted than excited. Didn't I tell myself this would be a year defined by doing less so in the end I could be more? So often I find myself jumping from one new idea to the next, feeding off the excitement of new possibility and potential, but losing steam when the nitty-gritty, day-to-day work and challenges come in to play. Instead of seeing obstacles and challenges as opportunities to strengthen my fear muscles, I shrink away, telling myself that it must be a bad idea. The doors aren't flinging open before me, and therefore it just isn't meant to be. Time to turn back. Again.

Or, perhaps those obstacles mean I am on the right path after all.

As screenwriter Frank Howard Clark once said, "If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. "

So what do I wish for in 2010? To take one step. Every day. To make room for and a conscious effort to take just a single step—even when it means stepping in, towards, over and around any obstacles in my path—just so long as that one step is moving me closer toward the life I was created to inhabit...fully.

Wishcasting Wednesday

Today's Wishcasting Wednesday prompt from Jamie Ridler Studios ask...

How Do I Wish to Soar?

With…


Self-Confidence…
in
my
steps;
my
    dreams; my creativity
                               my
                            choices;
                               my
                             talent;
                               my
abilities; my, decisions.
      

               Openness…to new ideas;
      challenging                 thoughts;
    different                           views; the         
  road less                                traveled;
unfamiliar                                faces who                    
are really                                     new friends                            
 in disguise;                              loving fully;
  loving more;                            letting go;
    falling flat                           on my face
      but getting                     up one more
         time; dreaming big; expecting more;
               being completely surprised.

     Attentiveness…toward
my goal;                 my vision;               
my dreams;            the life I’ve
secretly                   and not so
secretly felt             was always               
mine to                   behold; my
spirit; my               body; my
mind; my needs; time spent with
my spouse,             my family           
my friends;             when I need          
to  just                   stop and when
I need to                 press on just a
little more;               the tiny detials
and the                     grand view.


Resilience to obstacles, delays,
detours;                     opposing               
viewpoints;                the nay-                  
sayers;                      the many
stories                     and false-
hoods                     I make
up then                 wrestle
against; the many gremlins that
try to destroy my progress, tell
me it can’t               be done; that
it isn’t                        worth the
time;                                 jealousy;  
negative                                thinking;      
fatigue;                                    burnout;  
opinions                                    of others
that do                                         not really
matter;                                           self-doubt.

A Case of the Mondays

Poor Monday. If I were to poll a room of people as to which day of the week is their least favorite, I'm fairly certain Monday would win by a long shot.

But why do people dislike Monday so much? Because it marks the end of the weekend and the start of the work or school week? I get that. I've been there. But let's try reframing the idea of hating Mondays and see if struggling through that first day of the week is really worth it.

Let's say most people start school around age 5. (I'm not counting preschool for the purpose of this illustration). And let's say you work until age 65. And let's say you hate every single Monday of every single school week and work week from there on out. If there are approximately 52 Mondays in a year, that means you end up hating 3,120 days of your life. Or, to look at it another way a little more than 8-1/2 years.

That seems like a lot of wasted time to me.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not always Little Miss Sunshine, especially in the morning and definitely not before I've had my coffee. But greeting the days I've been given with optimism and wide open arms is something I'm working on. And I think Mondays are a great place to start, as it sets the tone for the rest of the work week.

Several weeks ago, on a Monday, I took myself on a little field trip to a nearby park over my lunch break. It was a beautiful, sunny fall day and slightly warmer than usual for a Wisconsin October day. As I sat at a picnic table reading my book, I noticed a majestic weeping willow with low hanging branches about a football field away.

That's a perfect climbing tree, I thought.

I quickly glanced around. The park was fairly empty, with just occasional jogger or cyclist moving through the area.

Oh why not! I said to myself, jumping to my feet and walking straight towards the grand tree.

If you're wondering whether or not I climbed a tree on my lunch break in office attire, yes I did. And it was SO MUCH FUN! I loved climbing trees as a kid. In fact, I had my My Tree in the front yard that I sit in for hours reading books.

I can honestly say adding that little bit of childlike play sent me back to the office in a much better mood.

Since then, every Monday lunch break has been marked with some sort of childlike play. I've turned my Monday lunch hour in Monday's recess. Think about it, doesn't the word "recess" bring with it a sense of play and fun and freedom that "lunch" or "lunch break" or "lunch hour" does not.

So my challenge to you is to redefine Mondays. Create your own Monday Recess Ritual. I'd love to here the creatively clever ideas you come up with. If you need a jump start, visit 25 Ways to Turn Your Lunch Break Into Recess.

Now go play!