Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.  Goethe

My old friend Goethe entered my life again recently.  He’s been a companion for over two decades, although silent for much of that time.

I first fell in love with these words of Goethe as a young writer, mother, wife, and teacher.  I clipped them from a magazine as a reminder to myself, lest I forget my deepest desire, which was to write, in the midst of my many roles.   

Because time knows no direction except forward, the todays became yesterdays at breakneck speed.  As my children grew, so did my busyness.  One day I realized the desire to write had stolen out of my life without so much as a backwards glance.   

The Goethe quote resurfaced years later when my daughter, at 12, found it shoved to the back of a desk drawer, forgotten among the bills waiting to be paid, and liked it enough to move it to a place of honor on the refrigerator.  I smiled wistfully when I saw the words that once brimmed with possibility, and let them be.

Time continued to trek along.  My three children left home one by one, and by mutual agreement, my husband made his exit too.  Life returned to a more leisurely pace and offered time to remember, reflect, and regroup.  My deepest desire resurfaced during the quiet moments, beckoning.  I was scared to heed the call.  My work felt safe and comfortable.  But nothing is more real than a dream, so after months of deliberating I walked away from the preschool that I directed, from people that I loved.  

For the first time in over 30 years, I found myself untethered to a classroom or office.  Interestingly, I fretted less about the hit to my income than about the loss in identity.  During the first few months, I floundered as I lost the feel of solid ground under my feet.  I seemed to spiral, anchorless, through the universe.  I knew not who I was or where in the world I was headed.  I didn’t feel real. 

I left my day job one year ago.  Since, I’ve found my footing and am now once again on solid ground and could not be happier.  My friend Goethe played a part.

As I traversed the path from full-time professional to freelance writer, I delved into Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist’s Way.  It’s billed as a 12-week course in discovering and recovering one’s creative self.  Synchronicity, the concept that Carl Jung described as unrelated events occurring together in a meaningful manner, is explored at length in The Artist’s Way.  Students are instructed to pay attention, to keep eyes open for it, because “once we begin our creative recovery, we will probably be startled to find it cropping up everywhere.”   Cameron uses the Goethe quote to encourage students to walk in the direction of a dream, because once we do, she says, all sorts of things occur to help that would never have occurred otherwise.

I wasn’t sure if the old clipping still clung to my refrigerator because we tend to stop seeing things that are right in front of us every day.  Believing this an experience of synchronicity, a message of sorts, I scrambled to the kitchen to check.  And there he was, partially hidden under a magnetic photo and a gaudy bottle opener from Las Vegas, still hanging around.  Goethe’s words brimmed with possibility once again, and I moved them to a more prominent position.

And it’s true.  All kinds of good things have happened since I began walking in the direction of my dream.  I know where I’m headed.  And I hope to share this with you.  

You might also be interested in these articles:

• Begin Again
• How Not To Fall This Fall
• When Good Men Go Bad

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nfitzgerald Thank you

1 like this.
Jul 15, 2012, 2:09 PM EDT

cheri7 Thank you so much for sharing your story, about "recovering your dream" with all of us. I believe in dreams, and sometimes they do not come when WE expect them to, but at the "time" they are meant to come! I'm so glad that you "felt" the time and had the courage to pursue it! I think WE should ALL learn from your story, to "not give up" and keep Moving Forward! Really, no matter how hard it is, we must continue to go Forward! Good for you! C!

1 like this.
Jul 15, 2012, 4:52 PM EDT

luchito Sometimes our dreams become a reality (one after the other). We then believe our lives are a script that was written by somebody!.

1 like this.
Jul 15, 2012, 8:58 PM EDT

cheri7 Hi luchio! Well, yes, laugh.."be Careful what You Wish for!" I STILL believe luchito, that WE can have our OWN dreams, and really, ...Why cannot we not write our own script???? As that to me is what our Personal Dreams are?! Why should OUR OWN dreams be directed by ANYONE ELSE'S script, as ...You see, as INDIVIDUALS.. we have our OWN dreams....WRITTEN BY OURSELVES...and if WE did not write them......Then it is Time to take out a "new sheet" and begin again. (I do submit this with due respect to your thoughts.) C!

Jul 15, 2012, 11:17 PM EDT

candideal I agree with both of you. "Something" puts those desires within us which propel us in a certain direction.

Jul 16, 2012, 11:07 PM EDT

luchito To all: I should write the dreams and realities about my life. Just to say: my father did not go beyond second grade and my mother never went to school. Against all these odds, I came with scholarships to complete graduate school at MIT. I got three degrees.

Jul 17, 2012, 8:15 PM EDT

cheri7 luchito, that is really wonderful! You are really a TRUE story of Dreams coming TRUE against the odds. I feel your story really shows that if an individual is determined and able, there are no boundaries to their dreams. You have I hope lived your dreams beyond what you ever imagined, and my hat is truly off to you. What a wonderful thing, and so glad you shared your story. Thank you, C.

Jul 19, 2012, 12:38 AM EDT

luchito C: Thank you! Your comments are very kind.

Jul 20, 2012, 10:46 PM EDT

cheri7 You are very welcome. My comments are just the truth, as I see it. I wish you the best. I see there are more forums, which I will join soon! My father-in-law went to MIT. It is an incredible place. Really, you did just wonderful! It makes one wonder about there people who complain that they were "held back" because of their background. Really, if you have the "will and the intelligence" there is nothing that can hold you back...but maybe...your "own mind." See you on another forum. C!

Jul 20, 2012, 11:27 PM EDT

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