But every day my eyes fall of the tin sign hanging at my desk. The one with the quote. The quote beautifully written and picturesquely designed. "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." Henry David Thoreau Confidently? But if I walk confidently in the direction of my dreams then people will know what they are. If people know what my dreams are then I become vulnerable. If I become vulnerable I put myself at risk. Wouldn't it be better to quietly and secretly crawl towards my dreams?
Living in this false sense of security comes at great cost. Constructing walls in an attempt to protect myself in fact creates barriers to relationships. It prohibits authenticity. It leaves no room for community.
So, I am forced to ask my self what truth will I decide to live by. Do the benefits of going "confidently in the direction of my dreams" outweigh the risks of vulnerability and possible failure? As much as my head tells me no, stay safe in your seclusion, my heart tells me YES! Yes, walk, run, jump "confidently in the direction of your dreams!" Push past the fear, knowing that in the running and jumping I may fall. But if I do fall there will be others around to help me get back up and start walking again.
For each of us our dreams take many forms. From the seemingly small to the astoundingly enormous your dreams matter. So in that vein, today I would like to share one of my dreams. Joyfully Creates. As many know one of my passions is knitting. I could do it all day and all night and not grow tired of it. Several people have told me that I should try to sell my items, but I have lacked the confidence to pursue this. What if my things are not good enough? What of people don't like them? What if I can't make them fast enough. What if ... So, I have nervously laughed and said, yea wouldn't that be great and then promptly done nothing to make this dream a reality.
I have decided that it is time to start going confidently in the direction of my dreams. Joyfully Creates is the name of the knitting business of my dreams. I am not 100% sure what that will look like yet. But I do know that I need to throw off the fears and the "what ifs". Instead embracing confidence and community and the possibilities that lie ahead.
Will you join me in walking confidently? Will you start to dream and share and become who you were made to be? What would your world look like if you did?
