On Dreaming and Practice

I have many dreams. It's just part of who I am: I dream. I imagine whole lives for myself in an instant based on the smallest thing. It's a wonderful skill, and yet sometimes I struggle to truly be in the present. The possible always beckons. And the more amazing these dreams are, the more the present pales.

As I get older (40 looms), I begin to understand more fully that the present is where I live; I must truly inhabit the now. These days, I have taken up some practices I hope will ground me more fully in the present--even as I continue to embrace this habit of dreaming, a habit I know is a core element of me.

Connecting with the physical present has been the most life-changing so far. I've "done yoga" for years, but only lately have I embraced a rigorous practice. In the past, yoga has helped me calm my mind, ease stress and connect with my body. For the first time, now, I feel it opening up other possibilities. I begin to understand that I can do more than I think I can. The dreams, I think they have had a stronger purpose all along.

The dreams are not meant as diversion; they are instructions. They are a call to arms. Create this world, they say. Do not sit by and wish it. Do not dwell in the fantasy: create it.  I'm searching for the courage to do just that.