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Follow Your Dreams, Do What You Love

F ollow your bliss. Live Your Passion. Do what you love. I'm sure you hear those phrases bandied about quite often. When we think of people living their passions or dreams, we think of it in two ways - the smaller more personal, soothe your spirit kind of things such as writing poetry, taking dance classes - the kinds of things that whisper to your soul; the ones that shout excitement - flying planes or jumping out of them - any of those exhilarting passions that feed the spirit. And then there are the bigger than life passions and dreams such as changing careers or transforming your entire life in a big way. Which ever is yours to follow, you shouldn't let anything stand in front of you and your dreams and passions.

But what would you do if you could? What would be your dream, big or small, right here, right now if you had a ticket to your dreams? Just for a moment, allow yourself to dream of that; if nothing were standing in your way, how would you follow your passions? Feels good doesn't it, when you think about that one thing that makes you happy, that makes you tingle knowingly.

What is Stopping You From following Your Dreams and Passions

The next time you find yourself saying, "I'd love to do that." What is stopping you? We all have reasons why we don't do what we love. Being afraid of our limitations, circumstances, just to name a few. And of course, doing what you love would be so much easier if we didn't have responsibilities that squandered our time or depended on a steady pay check. Kids that need shoes. Kids need driving off to soccer, cheerleading. Mortages and car payments. And let's not forget the fear monster sitting on our shoulders.

We say, "I am much too busy with life and responsibility." To that I say, it's natural to take care of your responsibilities, but where are you within all of this? How much of yourself is left for you? Following a passion or dream doesn't have to be at the neglect or detriment of others in your life. It can actually enhance a relationship and make you nicer to your children because you've found the time to do something that you love, and it should be done without guilt. When the soul is allowed to breathe, there's a calmness that translates to other areas of living.

Maybe some of you have given up something that gave you pleasure a long time ago. We've all heard the stories of a dream deferred, or people who utter the phrase "I used to love doing that." A few years ago I found out that my mother used to write and is an excellent sketcher. I don't think that she would have made a career out of it, but I'm sure that it would have healed personal wounds. The revelation was shocking to me as I've never seen her do anything remotely creative, which saddens me because somehow her passion for words and art was sideswept by a life of responsibility. How unfortunate to deny your soul and stiffle a part of who you are when you deny your passions.

Ah, but some of you say, I don't even know what my passions are. It's alright not to know what you are passionate about. Life is about discovery, and it may take some self-discovery to find your bliss. Some people take an art class and realize it fits them well, even though they are no Picasso; some people love to garden and create backyard masterpieces. And then you have some people who live for 60 years and then discover they have a passion for something. We all have a passion for something and it's never too late to discover and follow it. Many of us discover our passions many times over; it just means that we lead passionate lives and the sky is the limit.

The Bigger Than Life Passions

Now what about those bigger than life passions and dreams, such as changing careers, going back to school for a degree, buying that dream home you've always wanted or deciding to start your own busines? Some people believe that's it's selfish to entertain dreams that are just that "dreams," because they believe that they could never come to fruition. I knew of a woman in her 80's who went back to get her degree because she had a passion for literature, truly proving that it is never too late to be what you were meant to be. You hear it all the time - top executive quits job to take up hobby, or woman leaves corporate position to start her own catering busines. You get the point - people at a certain stage of their lives decide to follow their dreams and do what they love.

To ditch security for personal self-satisfaction is terrifying to most people, but that is just what a Harvard lawyer for Corporate America did. Tama Kieves left her big deal job in search of her writing soul. In her book, This Time I Dance, she says, "Gulls shrieked and I watched the sun steal another day of my life into the horizon. Then the universe hushed into stillness, time paused,and the air seemed to tingle with imminence. And in between the sea's pounding intervals, my heart soared, whispered, roared, "Leave the firm. You can't go back. Honor your yearning to write."

Now for most of us, it's not that clear or poetic that we should just pack it up and follow our dreams. Even if we are unhappy with our jobs or lives, it takes awhile to get to that point where we find the courage or means to do something about it. We endure our lackluster lives because we believe we must, or we are afraid to let our dreams lead us. And that is the turning point for most people - when they can no longer deny their soul - when they can no longer deny their truth and their heart of hearts.

"Come another ungodly Monday, I didn't want to have to jam myself into pantyhose, pumps, and pretense. My soul cried out for congruence..." says Kieves.

I understand that cry of the soul where you can no longer deny the truth, as I opted out of my old life in a big city and headed for small town life of writing for my soul. The song in my heart was more powerful than the fear pounding in my heart.

Finding The Courage to By Pass The Fear

Like Kieves, we need to close one door and walk, even stumble, through the one beckoning us, however blindly and scary the going through is. And that is the thing about going where you must. Despite the fears nipping at your heels and the voices of doubt and criticism gnawing at your brain, some of us can no longer deny our dreams and aspirations bubbling up to the top of our souls, threating to boil over. It's the most scary and yet exhilarating feeling - when you hear your heart song leading you to honor your dreams.

Of course, I would never tell anyone to abruptly ditch their lives in search of their magic calling, because let's face it - and dare I say it - be practical, there's a time and place for everything and that includes following your dreams. You will know when it is right to walk towards what has been calling out to you.

What I am talking about is having the courage to follow your dreams and passions, be it the smaller or more life-changing ones. We let all kinds of fear, timing and practicality guide us into lives, careers or situations we only tolerate because it pays the bills or it is alright for now, or we think it is where we should be, or we think there's always tomorrow. But we all know that tomorrow ever rarely comes the way we plan, and fear will paralyze us forever if we let it.

Of fear, Kieves says, "...the roar of your heart will quiet all terror. And Sometimes, it just takes just a little terror to rouse your heart."

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