Thank you for visiting!

The Double Meaning behind the blog title 'Dream Follower:'
First, for 14 years I was a ballroom & social dance instructor, and have studied both leading and following. I feel that learning to follow is full of nuance and is often misunderstood. I made it one of my personal goals to become a really excellent follow on the dance floor, and will probably talk a lot about the art of following - both in and out of the context of dance.

Second, I am a huge fan of author Michael Ende, probably best known for The Neverending Story. The book is incredible, and the first film captured some of the essence. (Please don't watch the other two films...I urge you to read the book though!) Anyway, at least twice in my life I have been caught in a storm of my own indecision, and my inner Moon Princess yelled to my inner Bastian...'Why don't you do what you dream?' I tear up even now as I write this little blurb. The tension between being practical, keeping my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds (at the risk of compromising my inner vibrancy, true self, and who knows what else)...and reaching for my true dreams (at the risk of losing everything) is still a very real struggle. In fact, one of those struggles lead to my 14 years of teaching dance, so we can see which voice won the battle that fateful day when I was staring at the want-ad...

And so I strive to be two kinds of Dream Followers in my life. One has to do with connecting with others, and the other has to do with connecting with my inner Moon Princess and the world of possibility that opens when I do...

Sunday, July 6, 2014

What if...?

As a child I think often found myself wondering what if?

My mother would be annoyed with me asking over and over what if, what if...

It was away in my mind following a train of thought beyond and beyond. And after that I would continue to imagine what else could be a parallel reality. I understand why she was irritated. There was no end in sight. No satisfaction. No silencing the worry-warted beast within.

It is another branch of a symptom of a vivid imagination, this wondering what if.

And at that time maybe it was also another way to stall off making decisions. If we go for it, if we try something, then we must stick to our guns and live with the consequences. Going for it means not wondering what if... Or at least it means not allowing what-ifs to slow you down.

But it can also be empowering. What if also allows the imagination to roam freely, shutting up the judging mind. It can be your mind full of goblins and ghosts and goons your worst nightmares, it can be full of all the possibilities you never dreamed of before.

What if can be a powerful tool to be used for both ill or for good, to motivate or pause the action, to entertain the mind, amuse the heart, or stall the nay-sayers.

I'm sure I will never stop asking what if...

1 comment:

  1. Sometimes a long series of "but what if..." questions is just a way to delay bedtime too. Like, "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." ;-)
    If your mother had taken a step back from her own desire to reassure you, she might have thought to ask you to answer your own question. Wonder what that might have brought up...

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.