creating dreams come true: preparing to start

creating dreams come true creative adventure will be starting next month.

so i’ve been thinking about starting, and more specifically about preparing to start.

those first few steps into a new dream can be pretty scary.  there is no path and you can’t be sure you are moving in the right direction, or that you will be stepping onto solid ground.   on the other hand, the first few steps can be the most exciting steps, too.  you’re stepping into your dream!  how cool is that?

and there are so many ways to take those first steps into a dream.  i have experimented with this a lot.  in the beginning, i used raw enthusiasm and excitement as fuel to not just step into dreams but to leap into them, headfirst with no net.  at this point, i still appreciate that enthusiasm and excitement, but i tend to step in a little more carefully, after doing some planning and preparation.

of course the ultimate way to step into a dream is to not step into it all, but to become it.  but more on that once we have actually begun.

at this point, it’s time to prepare to start.

i was thinking about this yesterday while i was walking home from work.  last spring i started walking to work, a 45 minute walk, which i completely adore.  i usually work 3 days a week and walk 1 or 2 of those days.  but when winter hit and the temperature plummeted (we’re in the -30s with the windshill here in winnipeg)  i started driving every day.

i was not prepared.

i had been thinking about it and had picked out the winter hiking boots i wanted, and decided to get new mittens but hadn’t done either of those things. thinking about it is an important first step but that thinking has to translate over into action at some point or you just don’t get anywhere.

so i got the boots and the mitts. and i started to get excited.  i can do this!  i can keep walking in the winter!  those small actions were huge for getting me back on track with my goal.

then i figured out how many layers to wear.  i decided instead of long underwear to wear knee-high socks to keep my legs warm.  (my coat is past-the-knee length and i don’t like long underwear because i find it awkward to put on and it gets too warm in the office all day.)  i decided to wear my pink and snuggly softest soft in the world angora scarf under my coat right against my neck, and my purple lace alpaca scarf over my coat and covering my face.

(can you tell i am a knitter?)

then i decided to wear the matching pink angora hat first, then put on my big headphones, then my even bigger cute wool hat that my mom brought me back from iceland (the only knitted thing i am wearing that i didn’t knit myself).  the way the big wool hat stretched out over the headphones created a wind shield across my face.  i decided to wear my super cool mermaid fingerless gloves under my new super-warm mitts.

my favourite fingerless mermaid gloves

and i made a new playlist for my ipod of songs i REALLY like because my fingers would not be free to change songs.  (when it’s too cold to remove my hands from my mitts, i use my nose to operate the ipod)

that’s a lot of preparation for one walk to work.  but if i just threw something on and went i’d likely not have a very nice walk.  and once i do the preparation once, i know what works and i go with it for the rest of the winter.

what i found was that some of my decisions weren’t the best ones.  my legs were a little cold where the socks ended, i think i want ski pants.  my neck was way too warm with that angora scarf, so it felt so nice and soft at first, it was sweaty by the time i got there.  the alpaca is not warm enough or wind resistant enough to be a good face covering scarf.  the wind shield created by the wool hat only worked when facing some directions.  i put lipgloss on before my walk home from work and the angora fluffs got stuck in it.  my mermaid gloves are too bulky under the new mitts.  the new playlist was great though and my new hiking boots are completely awesome.

realising that some of my decisions weren’t the best possible decisions doesn’t negate the fact that *i did it*.  my first winter walk was a complete success because it happened.

and as i go forward i will make adjustments. i will buy ski pants and a balaclava and knit a smaller pair of fingerless gloves/wrist warmers (sky blue angora, i think).  that’s not what is really important here.  what is really important is that i did it.

so as we all prepare to create dreams come true, we can take the pressure off by remembering – as we go forward we will make adjustments.  we don’t have to have it all figured out in order to take those first steps.  that is the power of the creative community we are creating here.  we can all hold hands and take that first step together and then help each other sort out what adjustments need to be made as we continue to move forward into bigger and brighter dreams come true.

i am so excited about all of you who have signed up for this already!  we are generating powerful dreams-come-true energy by coming together in creative community like this.  if you are participating, make sure you email me {andrea [at] ABCcreativity.com} your name and website/blog address so i can include you in the list of creative dreamers that i will put up in january.  you can also sign up for the creative adventure mailing list for extra support, inspiration and affirmations for creating your dreams come true.

if you are interested, but shy about participating or speaking about it, know that you are welcome to quietly read along (you can subscribe here so that you don’t miss anything) and participate in whatever way works best for you.  there are no rules here.

andrea schroeder creates creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything. join in on her free creative journaling workshop now and learn how to use an art journal as a tool for healing, happiness and self-discovery.

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Tagged as: preparing, starting