How are dreams formed?
I’ve never really thought about that, but as I sit here in France living one of my own dreams, the question crossed my mind. I am going to try to answer it because I’m sure it will help others find and reach their dreams and deepest desires.
Dreams start when a seed is planted. This seed can come in the form of an image, thought, feeling, or desire. Yesterday, when I was out for my daily walk, I happened on an especially charming neighborhood. It felt warm and inviting and I started to picture myself living there, frequenting the restaurants, cafes, shops, and boutiques. This, I believe, was the start of a new dream for me.
If I dissect my dream of living in France it started when I first visited Quebec City Canada. I’d been told that this city, its streets with its charming houses with their brightly colored doors and shutters was a taste of what France was like. The light joyful free feeling I felt in Quebec City was intoxicating. The French language the locals spoke was music to my ears. Suddenly I found myself wondering what it would be like to not only visit France, but to live there! I became instantly focused on learning how to speak French well, I wanted to sound eloquent, lyrical, poetic when I spoke French. This was the seed of a dream.
This seed sprouted rapidly after my first trip to France one year later. I’d spent five nights in Paris and three in Aix-en-Provence and I could picture myself living in that country, perhaps not in either of those localities, but the country I felt could definitely suit me. During my second trip when I found, quite by accident, the city of Perpignan and I was overcome by an overwhelming sense of freedom, that seed quickly took root. Every day I watered it with my thoughts of living there and after a lot of planning and saving I’m living here having realized one of my dreams. It’s simply unbelievable, but it’s a testament to the fact that you, too, can nurture those small seeds, turn them into your wildest dreams, and make them reality.
Photo Credit: Aaron Burden