I have been accused of “magical thinking” by engineers and the kinds of people who protest Harry Potter, and the only problem I have with that is that there are people who protest Harry Potter. Why shouldn’t I think magically? Why should my reality conform to someone else’s ideas?
When I was little, I fantasized about my future. I saw myself going to college, working as an illustrator, becoming an art director. I put every ounce of my productive time into achieving those ends, and there were plenty of obstacles along the way. I worked, I saved, I hoped, and I dreamed my dreams – then I lived those dreams. Just having the fantasies would not have gotten me where I wanted to go, but I couldn’t have worked towards my goals without first having the imagination to build my fantasies.
I have often talked to people who don’t know what they want to do for a living. I’ll ask, “What brings you happiness?” It seems to me that the people who feel lost in their career goals often start answering that question with their desire to make money, or their need for security, or what their parents think. None of that answers the real question, “What kind of pursuit will make you happy enough that you will pursue it with the kind of drive that will eventually bring success?”
Oprah likes to say “Do what you love and the money will follow”. Yeah, easy for Oprah to say, but I think it’s essentially true. I’m also inclined to agree with a bumper sticker I saw that said “Real musicians have day jobs”, and that often goes for artists too. The demand for money to support my art addiction is often in conflict with my need to create. But I, and everybody else, have the talents we need to fully live the lives we’re meant to live. We just have to start with the right fantasy.
Indigene has been doing a colorful journal project that inspired me to dust off a stack of old women’s magazines and start cutting out phrases and words that spoke to me. I glued them on a scrap of mat board and put it on my desk for motivation. What do I really want? Sometimes I forget that art is the center of my circle or that singing and being happy is something I have to remember to do. I should quit complaining about my current bed and buy a new one, or at least a new mattress. Sometimes we don’t know how much we want something until it’s kind of randomly put in front of us when we’re in a hypnotized state from flipping through women’s magazines.
Is it magical thinking to create the intention, and then make that intention reality? What have you dreamed into reality?
I thought I was done writing for today, and then I went to Sharon’s blog, and found she gave me a prize. Woo hoo! Okay, I’ll admit it once again, I love awards. I’m shameless that way :) Check out her site. She’s always got something interesting to look at or cook or inspire.
Part of the love in awards is the joys of passing it along, so my picks are below. (See, I wanted to manifest “love”, “share”, “smile”, “friends”, etc. and it’s coming true already!) Pass the love along!
