When I
moved to Nashville originally, I remember that I was charmed by the city. Nashville is almost like a small town within
a big town. It has southern charm and a
friendly atmosphere. I was also very
aware of the creative spirit in Nashville.
As the home of country music, dreams are very important here. I met many people who were writing and
performing music, with the hope that someday they would hit it big and become a
star. I was charmed because I saw the
creativity within this striving. I
worked in a psychiatric hospital/alcohol and drug treatment center. I knew nurses writing music. They helped
people to recover by day, and created songs at night. It was so much fun! I also knew people who lived in the community and
performed whenever they had the opportunity.
There were people in every profession and socio-economic status. They had their daytime existence. They also had this delicious possibility.
In a way, I thought of it as a city focused
on possibility. In my
opinion, dreams and hope are the stuff that life is made of. If you have a focus on something bigger than
where you currently are, you have hope. Living life can drive your dreams
away. If you are focused on survival,
and nothing else, you have been robbed of something that is important for the
human spirit. As I’m sitting here, I’m
listening to a song that my daughter gave me to listen to. The refrain on the song is “anything could
happen”. * What could happen in your
life if you had that attitude? In my
opinion, that is a key ingredient to the spirit that gives you the willingness
to go on. It’s not what I have
experienced in depression. When I’m
focused on my misery, trust me, I’m not there.
At those times, I’m focused on a future that is negative. And as I learned at Landmark, your beliefs
can create that negative future. When
people lose the willingness to fight for their dreams, or to create new ones,
that is when they lose the desire to live life.
When I
first moved to Nashville, I was going through a divorce. While I remember that time as being filled
with pain and sadness, I also see that being in a town built on possibility
influenced my healing. Because depression
has always impacted my ability to recognize possibility, recovery has always
meant that I look towards my dreams to pull out of it. Does that mean that I assume that I can do
anything? Well, not really. I know myself pretty well. If my dream had been to be a country music
star, that would have been kind of silly.
I can’t sing and my talent with musical instruments is less than
stellar. When my daughter was young, she
would tell me that my singing hurt her ears.
(My daughter really does have musical talent. She knew what she was talking about even
then.)
But, I do
have talents and skills. My experience
with Maxine allowed me to become who I am.
I’m friendly, loving, and understanding. I am good at creating relationships and
talking with other people about what is important to them. I also have knowledge about mental illness
that I desire to share. While not an
excellent writer, I do have some skill.
So, all that led me to an exploration of mental illness and healing in
written form. I’m writing this blog, and
eventually hope to publish some of it in book form. Here is the dream. Here is the focus on something bigger than
myself that gives my life meaning. The
irony is that I am living near Nashville now.
My city of possibility. Time to
move forward!!
The dream
is important. It gives me a reason to continue
to move forward. If I allow my fears and
doubts to rob me of this dream, it would create a hole for me. This hole would require the creation of a new
dream. Or it might result in more
depression. What does all this mean? Let your dreams give you the motivation for
continuing to create your life. And
don’t make temporary failure mean that you aren’t worthwhile. Continue dreaming. Eventually you will see that the journey IS
the point. Make your days as satisfying
and fulfilling as you can.
Share your
dreams with me. As I have learned, declaring my dreams makes a difference. When
you speak, you begin to believe. I really would love to hear from you. What will you create today?
*Ellie Goulding from Halcyon Days---“Anything
can happen”
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