Making room for your dreams

~Learning to dream again ~ 

It is a wonderful part of our healing journey and the last but not least part of our "finding ourselves, healing from abuse and learning to dream again" that we focus upon here at Singing a New Song (blog and Facebook).

It is not the last step but more of a goal. Once we can "learn to dream again" we will have "found ourselves and healed from abuse".

How DO we make room for our dreams??? 

Let's walk through the process of "learning to dream again" as if we are redecorating a room in our home or perhaps, better yet, a room in our parent's home that has collected many items that are "stored" among the furniture and living space. We have already dreamed of how we would like that room to look, until we walk into it and are overwhelmed by the emotions and memories found there. Our memories are represented by grandma's antique chair, the framed picture of dad in military attire or even a picture of ourselves in our mother's arms. There was so much living that happened here...how could we ever think of cleaning it out? We need to remind ourselves of our dream and how much we really want to see that room transformed.

Sometimes we need to see past all the stuff that has taken up the space where our dreams will come into existence. We have to dare to imagine that the room can look differently and then we have to find the desire to want it to look differently then we can begin to make decisions for many of the things that are in the way. This is deep emotional work. Many people have great emotional attachment to things and to give away, sell, or donate any possession can be traumatic and this is especially true for survivors of abuse who may have strong memories attached to these things. It would help us to start with a blank palette, as a painter does, in creating a place in our lives for our dream.

When we realize that we are willing and ready to let go of the past, we can patiently and carefully move aside all the stuff that are in our dream's way. This can be an arduous task but making it a labor of love to open up this room for your dream will make it all worthwhile. Try to see it as if you are decorating a baby's room for that expected little bundle of joy that will be arriving. We need to expect our dreams...welcome them and this is the way of giving them entrance into our lives by making room for them. As we toil, we may relive every moment, every tear and every joy that we shared there. We may even need to say "goodbye" to some of the things that we owned but we can take solace that finding them another home, another space, maybe even storing them while we decide where they will best belong.

We may need to prepare that space by doing some deep cleaning...soul searching. self-acceptance and even time of solitude throughout the process. Allowing ourselves to converse with our hearts and accept our dreams as reality is deep dream foundation work. We may need to do some serious deep cleaning to make room for our dreams. Like laying new carpet, we need to build our dreams upon a solid foundation. They deserve to have a fresh start.

Like welcoming a friend into your home for dinner, we are excited, prepared and happy to see them and looking forward to our time together. And when your dream is ready to "move it", we will have peace knowing that we have found other safe homes for our memories and our dream will move right in.

While your dreams are waiting for a place in our lives, let's open the windows and allow the sunshine to welcome them into their new home. Start seeing the room, "as it will be" once your dream moves in. Imagine the exhilarating freshness of the breeze through the open windows, the mirror on the wall reflecting the light upon a floral centerpiece holding all of your favorite blossoms, the crackling fire in the hearth, the softness of the carpet beneath your feet and the sound of a "new song" being played and you find yourself humming along.

Learning to dream again, isn't about fantasizing or imagining a life that is impossible. It is really about being mindful and aware of what your heart already feels, what it already knows, what it already sees. All you have to do is be open to hearing what your heart is saying to you. When you can "set aside all the stuff" that is taking your dream's space in your life, and imagine your dream THERE and that is when you will be learning to dream again...and I am sure that your dreams WILL come true!!!