A year later and my vision and mission remain, although much clearer, like a picture coming into focus.
I know I am on the right path.
I know The Dreaming Cafe is headed in the right direction.
My mission is to use the written word to share stories, ideas, and resources in ways that inspire, motivate, inform and empower others to embrace their own creative journey to self discovery.
Self-knowledge, self-care, self-expression and self-employment are all topics The Dreaming Cafe explores.
It sounds selfish, but it’s not.
To be the change you want to see in the world, you must first know who you are and what you want. Peace, love, change…they all flow from the inside out.
The Dreaming Cafe is a safe place to start.
The Dreaming Cafe is about…
Exploring who we are now and who we can become in the future.
Embracing the moment, while dreaming of better tomorrow.
Taking responsibility for ourselves, our hopes, our fears and our dreams.
Moving forward despite our fears, self doubt and insecurities.
Putting one foot in front of the other, and taking one step at a time.
Leaning into the vision we hold for ourselves, our family, our community and our world.
Exploring from the inside out and discovering who we are and why we are here.
Dreaming, learning, exploring, creating and taking action.
Leading by example in both word and in deed.
Kindness and compassion.
Love and peace.
Hope and inspiration.
And, using the written word to communicate, to teach, to share, and to help heal the world, one word, one idea, one person at a time.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for hanging out with me over the last year and making this one of the most rewarding adventures of my life.
1. Stare at a blank screen and NOT write because I think everything I write has to be perfect, groundbreaking or insightful.
2. Get a drink of water.
3. Do a load of laundry.
4. Open the refrigerator.
5. Close the refrigerator.
6. Google my name.
7. Google someone else’s name.
8. Watch a YouTube Video.
9. Make a cup of tea.
10. Make a new to-do list.
11. Spend too much time on Twitter.
12. Get tired of Twitter and head over to Facebook.
13. Text message a few friends.
14. Organize my email inbox.
15. Vacuum the carpet in my office.
16. Watch a Hulu “sick day collection” episode.
17. Cook lunch and linger too long at the kitchen table chatting with my husband.
18. Peruse the iTunes store.
19. Read too many blogs.
20. Make a pot of coffee.
21. Pop a pot of popcorn.
22. Balance my checkbook.
23. Stare at a blank screen and NOT write because I think I have nothing to say worth reading.
24. Open the refrigerator again to see if anything new has magically appeared.
25. Feel disappointed.
26. Close the refrigerator again.
27. Add some things to my to-do list that I’ve already done so I can cross them off.
28. Go to the post office.
29. Stop at the store.
30. Rearrange my bookshelf.
31. Take a reading break – one that lasts four hours.
32. Stare at my vision board.
33. Skype a friend.
34. Rearrange the icons on my desktop.
35. Shred some junk mail.
36. Get a glass of water.
37. Wash the dishes.
38. While I am in the kitchen get a snack.
39. Check the thermostat.
40. Adjust the temperature.
41. Open the front door and stare at all the snow.
42. Throw some old bread and crackers out for the birds.
43. Watch a Murder She Wrote episode on DVD.
44. Make another cup of tea.
45. Make some notes.
46. Peruse Amazon.com.
47. Check to see if my Kindle needs to be charged.
48. Shuffle my journals and piles of notes.
49. Clean my glasses.
50. Stare out the window.
51. Check my email.
52. Send some Tweets.
53. Read a few more blogs.
And, then before I realize it the day is over.
After a few days like this I begin to panic.
But, then something magical happens.
I feel refreshed. Invigorated. Creative. Excited.
I love to write again.
I don’t care if every word is perfect, groundbreaking or insightful. I have things to say and I think they are important. I think people may just like what I write.
The words don’t always flow easily and sometimes I still stare at a blank screen, but it now represents opportunity, not failure.
Then writing leads to other fun things, like outlining a new workshop, hacking some code, solving a problem or creating a new art journal piece or a short video.
Yes, sometimes I fritter away the day, but I am coming to realize that frittering away my day sometimes is the best way to feel creative and motivated again.
So, next time I feel a little antsy I am going to give myself a break and fritter away.
You may have already seen this TedTalk by Sir Ken Robinson, but it, too is well worth revisiting. His insights are brilliant. His stories make you laugh, but they also help you to see and remember the observations he is making.
Just watching this talk again gave me goosebumps, chills and brought tears to my eyes. He simultaneously provides insights into what has gone horribly wrong with our modern educational system while at the same time conveying a message of hope.
TedTalks 2010: Sir Ken Robinson: “Our children spread their dreams beneath our feet. And we should tread softly.” Visit http://www.ted.com/
Ever feel like your head is going to explode? That’s how I feel this morning.
I am well rested from my recent trip to Austin and hanging out with Barbara Winter and now I can’t stop thinking.
It started on the plane ride home. The flight was way too bumpy to read my Kindle. (I get motion sickness very easily.) So, at 10,000 feet I pulled out my iPodand closed my eyes. That’s when it started. Between resting and listening, the ideas started to pop like warm popcorn kernels. I kept jotting half formed ideas down. Ideas about everything. I started to see a glimmer of clarity for 2010, something I’ve been missing.
This morning, after a great nights sleep, I was able to pick up where I left off with one big difference…since I was no longer tired, the ideas were coming faster and more furious than I could write. Pen to paper, fingers to keyboard, whatever was handy at the moment, I was jotting ideas and full page outlines down. Some half formed, some fully formed ideas.
I haven’t had this ‘my head is going to explode’ feeling in awhile. I’ve missed it. It is such a high, when I feel all is right in the world, time seems to stand still while at the same time passing without me even noticing it, when I feel like ‘yes, I can do this!”, and when at my core I know I am one with the creative universe.
During a brain break to make a pot of mid-morning java, I realized why this feeling has been missing and how I can get it back more often. Other than my trip to Minnesota in November right after I resigned from my day job, and one breakfast, business meeting, all I do is sit in my home office and work. That’s not really cutting in, if you know what I mean. What will work, has worked, and will always work is to get out of the house, engage with people, especially people on the same wavelength, change my environment, take a trip with purpose, take a class, go to the library, attend a meeting – whatever – just get out of the house!
It’s kind of like Julia Cameron’sArtist Dates. To be creative you have to change your environment once in a while and engage the world on a different level. I’ve known this for a long time. I don’t know how I could have forgotten it.
But, whatever I call it, I know one thing, I’m getting out of the house more often! A brain is a terrible thing to waste.
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(I get motion sickness very easily.) So, at 10,000 feet I pulled out my 
and closed my eyes. That’s when it started. Between resting and listening, the ideas started to pop like warm popcorn kernels. I kept jotting half formed ideas down. Ideas about everything. I started to see a glimmer of clarity for 2010, something I’ve been missing.
Artist Dates. To be creative you have to change your environment once in a while and engage the world on a different level. I’ve known this for a long time. I don’t know how I could have forgotten it. 
