It’s a gorgeous Friday here in Ballinamore.
After the cold and wind (gale force stuff) of yesterday we now have a lovely sunfilled day.
William popped in to put up the coat hanging piece that he made and gave me … as you can see … there’s no room for coats.
We sat for a while over a cuppa and chatted about living simply & happily and simple/small house design … our dreams for building our own homes.
I love living in my cottage … and am blessed with the best neighbour Mags … and now new neighbour William … and still miss my old neighbours Lynda and Derek.
Living in town now for 29 months has meant that I got to know people and feel part of the community.
This blog has really made me feel a part of Ballinamore … I write and photograph … and then people ask me to cover stuff … off to the art exhibition opening tonight.
I was reading some of my older blog posts and came across this one written in Feb 2007 … just over 2 years ago … and the blog was only a month old.
It’s powerful stuff and I felt like another reader … rather than the writer.
Life Dreaming has formed a core part of how I live and dream and plan my life … for nearly 30 years now.
When I wrote the Feb 2007 post … I was about to run a Life Dreaming session in Dublin.
It never happened for a range of reasons … but the Life Dreaming workbook got written and designed … and I put Life Dreaming on the back burner until a month or so ago … when I gave the Life Dreaming workbook away for free (download your copy from the top of this blog).
What I’m trying to say is that I hold to a number of core dreams (develop Life Dreaming with my brother Marc … build my own home … build SKIL2 … blah blah) … the timeline just shifts to meet changing circumstances and opportunities … it’s about being flexible and resilient.
So … here is an excerpt of that post … Feb 2007 … how time flies.
Life Dreaming from the Frontline
If life throws so many unexpected things at us – what’s the point in dreaming?
Very good question.
Like most people, I’ve had my share of life’s knocks.
How I’ve reacted and dealt with them has formed the woman I am today.
Have you ever looked back on your life and seen those events and moments that ended up being signposts for learning and major decisions?
That moment where … if you’d made a different choice … your life would have taken a very different path?
One moment for me happened when I was 21 or 22.
The man I had been living with went to Sydney from Perth to start a new job and I was to follow a few weeks later.
One morning I opened a letter from him that said he didn’t want me to follow him to Sydney.
That’s the last I ever heard from him (and he had cleaned out our bank account and taken everything we owned with him – including all my books – big bummer).
When I finished reading the letter I lost it for a few minutes and then realised that I had – no money, no job, no place to live and hadn’t finished my degree (oh yeh, and the man I thought loved me had disappeared into the mist) – pretty much bottomed out.
That’s scarey – really scarey.
It all felt way too big to deal with – just too hard. Why me?
I remember so vividly – a question rose from inside me – what do you want to do ?
Stay down and find it just too hard – or – get up and take some control of your life?
From that moment on I vowed that I’d always find a way to get off the floor – find ways to live the life I wanted and not the life other people might want for me – not to just float along.
I found a strength and determination that I had never really tested. I drew on the deep love and support of my family and friends; finished my degree; and got on with living.
Over the years (more than 25) I’ve done a lot of work with communities and organisations in West Australia & Ireland.
I’ve worked with them to reflect and plan their futures – to define their purpose, values and needs – and translate them into real and enduring actions.
I’ve had the pleasure and privilege to work with thousands of people on 2 continents.
I get to see passion, purpose and power in action – in places and with people that society has given up on.
Life Dreaming first happened as a result of a woman nagging me to do them. I was working with communities and she wanted me to translate the tools I had developed into a series of workshops for women.
I’ve never had a problem saying No – and that’s what I did.
She obviously never took No for an answer – so a small battle of wills happened over a few months.
Obviously this woman had been sent by a persistent universe because one day I said Yes.
We had the first Life Dreaming in her home in 1992.
If you read my Home Sweet Home blog in Jan (07) or clicked the lizbiz button at the top of the page – you’d see how my values inform everything I do.
For Life Dreaming workshops I wanted to create spaces of beauty and relaxation where women could reflect, laugh, plan and make some choices about their next steps – about making dreams a reality and believing they could do it.
Will all my dreams come true?
Sorry Judy, you’re back in Kansas.
Life Dreamings paradox is that in choosing to have some influence over the choices you make about your life – you also can develop a talent for attracting and thriving on the unexpected.
At the core is a clarity about what drives you and what you value – and that forms the lodestone that helps you make decisions amongst a plethora (or dearth) of options.
So, if life throws us so many unexpected things – what is the point in dreaming?
For me, life without the power to dream – and achieve some of the dreams – is a life with no power, passion, purpose, meaning or celebration.
As this is the only life I remember, I want it to be full of fun, beauty, generosity, and sheer delight – and I want to have a part in shaping it.
It’s that simple -and yeh, that complex.
Reading that post again just reaffirmed why I do what I do.
Writing this blog over the last 2 1/2 years has been so much fun … and it helps me think through and clarify ideas that would only wander around in my head.
And all you wonderful readers … and my delightful commentators … make me want to write … about things that are important to me … and all the great stuff that happens here in Ballinamore.
Thanks for reading.
Slan
Liz
p.s And here’s Coco contemplating the universe … or not …
p.s.s
It’s been a busy and happy day dear reader
I had a lovely lunch in Smyths with Dee … love their vege soup.
Then spent 3 hours working over in Eamonn and Noleens garden centre. I want to get as much hands on experience as I can in gardening and plants. I had a great time sorting all the plants … it delights the designer in me.
Apart from the last 5 minutes (when it bucketed down with rain) I had a great time in the sunshine.
Came home and spent the last 3 hours updating a series of posts I did in 2007 on sustainable building and living.
You can read all about it on the page at the top of this blog.
I spent a while today finding and uploading (and referencing) some good photos … and added the sites from this weeks Simplicity post … and a few more I found in my ramblings this afternoon.
I’m off for a shower now and am out to the opening of a solo art exhibition down the street … will have photos tomorrow.
I’m missing the big GAA dinner dance tonight but have a photo spy there who will send me some photos.
Have a lovely weekend.
slan
Liz
WHOOPS! The comment regarding the look on Coco’s face was meant for this post.
The Jonquils/Daffodils are absolutely beautiful – one of my very favorite flower groups.
I love that you took a step back in time in order to take a look at where you were and where you are now.
The very fact that my own timeline is changing drastically – not at all the way I’d planned (. . . the best laid plans . . . :)has been difficult for me. Life Dreaming and a beautiful brand new book “Walking Nature Home” just out by an absolutely wonderful author, Susan Tweit, are the places I go to for solace, for answers, and if not for either of those things then just for comfort. We need each other and the energy and the support of each other to help us get through the rough and tough times.
And with that final thought thank you for Life Dreaming dear Liz,
Lindy
Hi Lindy
Yeh Coco is a bit like a model … used to the camera pointing in her face … and a little tired of it at the same time.
As I said to your other comment … timelines change … and we adapt.
I liked revisiting what I wrote in 2007 … the dream is still relevant … I just need to readjust the timeframe.
It’s my deep pleasure to both Life Dream for myself and share the process with others.
As I’ve said a few times … Life Dreaming is just a beautiful tool … it’s you who make it a reality in the world.
slan
Liz