Dream a Little Dream with Me

Motivation. Inspiration. Creation. Imagination. Asking. Wishing. Visualizing. Dreaming.

Have you ever been overcome with a feeling so deep, so stirring, so real, even though the origin of said feeling might be a dream not yet realized? You can almost taste it, feel the wind in your hair, if you will, and when you “come to,” you are sitting in your present-day life, the same cutoff pajama shorts and dirty pots on the marbled kitchen counter you noticed before you embarked on your journey to The Land of Possibilities.

Disney’s glass slipper-wearing princess, Cinderella, sang a beautiful song while in her “imprisonment” entitled, “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” Who has time to dream, you may ask? May I kindly remind you Cinderella did and her list of chores and demands were endless! From sunrise to a starry-night, refusing to let the physical demands take their toll, Cinderella knew if she could make it to her next moments of visions, wonders, and dreams, her joyous spirit in the present time, as well as the future, would be prepared for a miracle. She demonstrated how to dutifully meet the needs of one’s own terra firma while nurturing a heart soaring through the clouds.

While you’re dreaming and your heart is a-wishin,’ why let the desires fade into the morning light? Some keep dream journals, others share over a tipsy lunch with girlfriend’s lotto wishes and caviar dreams, but personally, I make Dream boards. Take a little walk with me into the creation of this wonderful tool for romantics, believers, wannabe Disney Princesses, and the like! All you need is: scissors, white board paper, magazines, stickers, tape, glue. (And maybe some wine. I believe a nice moderate glass of red or white vino can improve any project. For the record, I did NOT see Cinderella consume Stella Rosa or Pinot Grigio before bedtime but I’ll leave it up to you!)

A large 28x22 white board, (the preferred paper for makers of 5th-grade science projects and Dream boards), can be purchased from any dollar or craft store. Make sure you have a sharp reliable pair of scissors, like Fiskars, for your enjoyable task. You’ll need clear tape, (the one you use to wrap Christmas presents), or glue, (if you don’t have tape). I prefer tape because if you need to move a piece you already pressed down, it is easier to remove than if glued, (no matter the size of the clipping). Get your hands on a variety of magazines. Ask the doctor for the old National Geographic or Reader’s Digest on the waiting room table. Purchase gossip magazines at the check stand of the local market or drugstore. Ask your barber for the old Cowboy magazines and copies of Time or Newsweek. Steal them from your grandma! (Just kidding. That’s the wine talking.) Stickers are fun too and can be found practically everywhere, especially the store you went to for your white board. Now you are officially ready!!!

In a large space, like the floor, kitchen table, bed, etc…pull out the magazines and hunker down. Let your heart lead the way as you flip through the pages without a care in the world. Getting to an image, or words/sayings, that make the heart beat like a hummingbird, is a sign to start clipping. Remember the last two lines of the poem by William Ernest Henley? “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” What moves you? What brings tears to your eyes? Where do you want to go? To have? To give? To be? Go wild. Cut with all your heart. Let your joy consume you. Dream like you have 20 lifetimes.

Next, when you have a significant number of pieces to work with, figure out where you want sayings or pictures of prominence to go on the board. Once you start taping and gluing, a plan will miraculously lay itself out. As more pictures decorate the middle, corners, and edges, smaller cutouts can be placed between them to fill in gaps. I go for more of a collage look as it fits my personality. Every inch of my 28x22 is c-o-v-e-r-e-d. I want it all! A friend I invited over to make a board chose solely large pictures. She neatly placed them an inch or more away from the other so she, “…could concentrate on every piece while I imagine feeling myself doing it.” Do whatever feels and looks right to you. Some space can also be left for when new dreams or desires pop up. When dreams are fulfilled, or they no longer suit you, you can keep old clippings, (or cut out new ones), to cover said image so another dream can take root.

Lastly, display it in a place of prominence. My closet wall above the hanging clothes is prime real estate. As soon as I wake, while getting dressed, or laying down for sleep, my creation “speaks” to me. “Stay free. Surprise. Go. Treat yourself. In the know. Happily ever after. Finally dreams…” I feel like my Dream board is lava and I’m the volcano. All this bubbling out of me, may become part of my reality, if I so choose it to be.

I hear you saying I’m crazy. I hear you asking if any of my clippings have come true. I hear you complaining you’re not creative. One, I am crazy. I am a glass is half full kind of gal. Good is here, right now, to be had. Two, yes, some of my clippings have come true but I will say, the journey there is equally exciting and fulfilling as the prize. Three, you are creative. Your heart will lead you to the perfect pictures for you. In the words of Anatole France (1844-1924), French journalist, novelist, and poet, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” Fulfill your joy!