Jamie Ridler Studios

photo by Hannah Spence

When Jamie invited me to write this piece, I was an effusive YES. Now, in all fairness, if Jamie asked me to shave my head, I’d likely still be an effusive YES, because I love and respect her that much (AND…of course she’d have a good and savvy reason for wanting to see my bald pate).

But it wasn’t like I gave a ton of thought to what I intended to write when I offered up that YES. Intrinsically, I know dreams really do come true. I see it every single day. Big ones, little ones. I hold them for my clients and witness them coming to life. And the frequency does nothing to dim the sheer wonder I feel every time I watch them unfold.

Where I hesitate is in considering my own life. By all of my own measures, I have an incredibly rich one. The life of my dreams, I guess you could say. If I had designed a checklist when I was in my early 20’s of where I dreamt of being by the time I was eyeball-to-eyeball with 40, I know most boxes would be checked with great flourish.

How did that happen? One way. And hundreds ways.

The one way was a clear vision: abundance of love, joy and prosperity (though I’m not sure those would have been my exact words). And the hundreds of ways were the piles of mistakes, missteps and stubbed toes along the way. In learning my value and my values. In leaving room for magic while still holding focus. In living with the questions knowing that they would give way to the answers.

And in this very moment, I realize that some of those unchecked boxes are calling my name, asking to be loved up and tended to.

I’ve been so focused on the meta-view of my life that I’ve not been addressing the “other” dreams – the ones that get relegated to the category of “greedy” or “too much”. The impeccably gorgeous workspace. The travel I want for my father. The cottage. Some philanthropic work that feels so tender I dare not write the words. The personal stylist. The TV Show.

And so, once again, I am grateful to Jamie Ridler. In her request for this piece was a whispered invitation: what dreams to you want to see come to life, Tanya?

I will now make space for these other dreams. With spaciousness and intention.

Thank you, Jamie.

Tanya Geisler is a certified business and life coach who simply cannot and will not shake her indomitable belief that if everyone knew and lived their values, they’d hold the key to shining in their life, in their work and in their life’s work. (Now, wouldn’t THAT make for a far more joyous world?) A catalyst, not a therapist, she wrote The Joy Pages, created Board of Your Life , and speaks with great passion on all things joy, meaning and purpose.

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If I were to look back on my journals over the years – since I was in my 20s and 30s – I will see my writings about becoming an artist, a designer and an entrepreneur. Although I have not looked back on these sporadic entries from earlier in my adult life recently, I remember them as often painful. I always thought I was failing – I could not feel my life unfolding exactly as I envisioned.

About a dozen years ago I took a writing workshop with Cynthia Morris and one of the exercises included writing about what our ideal day looked like. My ideal day included a studio space for creating.

Playing in the outdoors has always been an important part of my life. I am an avid skier, mountain biker, hiker and camper. I have always loved living in small towns where I can pedal around for transportation and be part of a community.

About six years ago my husband and I bought a small (and old) brick Victorian house in a beautiful little town in the upper Arkansas River Valley of Colorado. We ‘dreamed’ of moving to our dream spot in five or so years. We got the opportunity to move here quite suddenly a few months later when I was offered a job in marketing with a small company that was expanding at the time. Two years later my job disappeared.

This was a difficult time for me. It was when the economic meltdown happened and for a time I could not see any opportunity in front of me. There were no good jobs in my town. The news was depressing. I had a hard time digging out of negative self-talk about past decisions.

But it also gave me time for self-exploration. I began to explore in the burgeoning online world and met many wonderful creatives (including Jamie whose wonderful outlook and insight on creativity helped me to begin moving forward again).

My husband was (and is) ever the optimist, and he kept believing in me – even when I could not.

Now I have a beautiful purpose built studio space that looks out across my neighborhood and across the valley to the 14,000+ feet peaks of the Sawatch Range. It is the space I dreamed of.

I make art in my studio space. I am an artist.
I am nurturing my infant virtual assistance practice in my space. I am an entrepreneur.
I am designing – handmade books and cards for friends; my logo; e-zines, e-books and website pages for my clients; and more – from this space. I am a designer.

I enjoy exploring and adventures in my backyard and beyond. I appreciate our beautiful earth and all that it holds. I am an outdoor diva.

The community I live in is full of amazing creative and loving souls that support me. My online community provides me another amazing creative, loving and supportive circle. I am grateful for the love and support I receive and the opportunity to share love and support for others. I am in community.

I realize I have been inching my way towards my dreams all along, but because I often resisted them forward movement was imperceptible (to me).

Now that I understand that I need to LET MY DREAMS come true (BELIEVE IN ME & MY DREAMS), my dreams are unfolding before my eyes. The journey I am on is my dream, and it is beautiful. Everyday is not perfect or ideal, but now I truly understand that these days and moments are part of the journey – and I embrace all of them with JOY and LOVE. And I know that I can lean into my communities for support and offer my support to them.

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France

Lisa DeYoung is an artist, entrepreneur, designer and outdoor diva living in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Through her Virtual Assistance business she loves supporting other creatives move forward in their entrepreneurial dreams. You can also share in Lisa’s creative life adventures at her personal blog at mtnmermaid.wordpress.com.

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Photo Credit: David Paul Ohmer

My dream come true.

My kid says “Can you pick me up at 4:00 today? Tristan wants me to hang out.”

I say “Absolutely.”

And inside, I glow.

It seems like a little thing. It’s a little conversation that happens a million times a day, but to me, it’s a tiny miracle.

My dream was for my kid to be seen for the person we know him to be.

He’s a good guy. He’s kind and sensitive. He’s funny and generous. He cares. He’s a natural with animals. Cats will follow him down the street. We adore him.

He’s also suffered from sensory integration issues, depression and anxiety. He was shy and didn’t understand social cues. He was in the background. For years, we knew something wasn’t quite right, but we didn’t know how to help. They thought he had autism. They thought he didn’t have autism. After 5 years of disparate diagnoses, we finally got the information we needed.

With the right medication and therapy, he blossomed.

For years, we were told to be realistic about our expectations. Early on, one expert told us that with the right classes, he might be able to live on his own.

At our last visit with his therapist, she said, Bridget, you have to treat him like he’s a normal kid, because he’s a normal kid.

He’s normal. He’s healthy. I don’t have to modify the world for him to be in it.

I don’t know how to talk about this. I don’t want it to seem like phew! We dodged a bullet. Or Oh, lucky us, our kid is normal.

I have sat in a circle with women whose kids suffer from autism, or developmental disabilities or mental illness, and had someone ask What is his diagnosis?

I have seen women sigh with relief that their kid wasn’t as bad as mine. And seen others look like they’d lost again.

I know that every one of those women would rather not be in the circle. And I know that every one of those women wouldn’t trade their kid for anybody else. We don’t want our kids to suffer. We’re not different than any other parent. We want our kids to have fun, and love and be loved. And when we watch our kids struggle, we worry.

Of course, I’m relieved that my child is doing so well. And I know that our situation is not the norm. Once that disability line is drawn, it’s rarely crossed back over.

My son’s teacher said, These kids are like pieces of our hearts just walking around.

I can’t tie this up in a simple knot. The feelings of every dream are complicated. I am very thankful, though. Very, very thankful.

Bridget Pilloud is a writer, intuitive consultant and teacher who helps people all over the world to experience a life of prosperity. Find her at www.intuitivebridge.com and www.chezbridget.com
 
 
 
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After years of working a part time job and doing my dream part time, I was settling into my new life – my dream was my full time job, no more side job and I could not be happier.

One morning I was sitting in my sunshiny art, play + meditation room thinking about dreaming bigger.

Wondering what more I could want.

I looked around my much-loved house, filled to the brim with colour and sparkle and magic and I knew what I wanted – to trade it all in for a gleaming open loft space.

A quick internet search showed that such a loft condo cost twice what my whole house cost.

So this didn’t seem like a dream that would happen anytime soon – but I put it out there anyway. Because dreaming bigger is what dreamers do!

A few months later, I was driving home from a particularly magical walk in the woods when my Creative Dream Fairy tapped me on the shoulder and suggested I take a different route home, so I did. I drove past a construction site and it’s like an alarm went off inside me.

I pulled over and wrote down the info from the sign on the side of the building. I raced home, googled the building and there it was. My Dream Loft.

Actually, even better than what I’d dreamed.

Outside: a tree-and-plant-filled park, with meandering paths and a little bridge that leads to my door. Building exteriors that look like a very cool art project.

Inside: polished concrete heated floors, wide open spaces, huge windows. A huge sleeping loft with an enormous window so I can look up at the stars.

Sustainable, innovative design.

And the price? Just under what I ended up selling my house for.

Packing up my bliss room

It doesn’t make sense that this happened so fast. But it did.

Dreams are amazing and they want to grow.

Give them just a little space and they will take over.

Construction of the loft didn’t happen quite as fast, though. I’ve had my stuff in storage and I retreated to my parent’s house, waiting out the delays and getting ready to live my new dreams in my dreamy loft.

But finally, it’s here!

By the time you read this I’ll be moving into my Dream Loft.

Yay Dreams!

With a paintbrush in one hand & a glitter-gun in the other, Andrea Schroeder lovingly mentors men & women who want to lead creatively abundant lives — and do ‘impossible’ things, with ease & joy. Express the greatest parts of who YOU are, at www.CreativeMagicAcademy.com.

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