Maybe that means that you make a big change. Maybe it means a small change. For some, moving toward a dream means a series of small steps and changes over time. For others, it means taking a leap of faith and jumping straight in with both feet.
My dream versus my current reality? I want to write more. I long to be a published author. I want to finish my children's book. Reality says I don't have time, I'm too busy, I'm too stressed by my day job to fuel my creative juices. In all truthfulness, I'm not sure I know the solution and all the steps I need to take to make something different happen. But I also know that the last time I made a step toward my dream, instead of away from it, SOMETHING HAPPENED.
Earlier this month, I blogged about how I took a step toward my dream and was rejected. I submitted my first article for publication and it was not selected. Rejection is something that can be devastating, or something that can be a catalyst. In this case, I decided that since my submission wasn't selected for publication, that I would go ahead and publish it on this blog. You can read it here. I shared it via my usual social media outlets, Facebook and Instagram. Many of you read it. And SOMETHING HAPPENED.
No, I didn't get "discovered" as a blogger or author. I didn't suddenly achieve my dream. But taking a step toward my dream effected change in my life. It's a small thing, really, but IT HAPPENED.
After publishing my little piece about my amazing grandparents, several family members read it. In the process of my family members reading it, both of my aunts realized my need for my grandma's Cottage Cheese Pie recipe. Within days of publishing my post on my blog and sharing it on Facebook, both of my aunts contacted me and sent me copies of the recipe. One of them is even in my grandma's handwriting. The tricky thing? The recipes don't match! Of course, no one is disappointed, in fact, we're excited to make them both so we can A/B them and decide which we like best. I wrote something, that caused my aunts to realize a need, that caused them to take action, and now I have two copies of a recipe that I didn't have at all before. SOMETHING HAPPENED.
This small change in my life would probably have gone mostly unnoticed, if not for my amazingly observant and perceptive hubby. He is the one who made the connection between taking a step toward my dream, albeit a small one, and that step causing a change in my life, albeit a small one. But when he pointed it out to me, the significance of the small step and the small change became huge to me. I took a chance. I stepped toward a dream. And even when that dream didn't happen the way I hoped, it created a change in my life. SOMETHING HAPPENED. And when something happens, it causes hope to grow and dreams to fly.
And so, even though my reality tells me that I don't have time, and often my creativity feels used up by stress and a busy life, I know that continuing to write and continuing to dream is something that is essential for me. Taking those small steps toward my dream, even if it never ends up looking like what I hope and wish for. But SOMETHING HAPPENS in my heart when I take a chance on my dreams. What steps (or leaps) will you take toward your dream?
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