Barbara52

From 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie:

I first learned the value of goals when I began recovering from codependency. Until then, I hadn't thought much about formalized goal-setting. My first informal goal was to get as far away from the raging fire of addiction as I could. I had other vague dreams. I wanted work that was meaningful. I wanted a family, a husband, kids.

These goals and dreams weren't conscious. But a pattern had already begun to merge. Whenever I said what I wanted, that event would come to pass -- as long a what I said I wanted concerned my destiny. The timing wasn't mine. I always had to wait. And the reality of experiencing what I wanted was always different from the way I imagined it would feel. Reality was more of a struggle than the utopia I pictured in my dreams. And getting what I wanted never made me happy unless I was already happy first.
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What do you want to do? There must be something that motivates and interests you. There's magic in setting goals and saying what you want. "Be careful what you ask for, you might get it," people warn. "Nothing comes to a dreamer but a dream," other pratical people advise. Well, when dreams come true -- even if it's just for a moment -- that's all right by me.

And the difference between our fantasies -- how we think something is going to play out -- and the way they actually do? That's the stuff lessons are made of. It's called life. Experience as much of it as you can.

Barbara52

I had a realization a few weeks ago that I had forgotten to dream. In the years of being married to an A and being swamped in my own codependency, I had just plain old stopped dreaming about doing or being more than I am now. I was so wrapped up in the day to day "stuff" that I forgot that dreams of being more, of doing more, can enrich my life.

I have made a great deal of progress in my recovery from codependency. But I had not begun to dream again.

Now I am ready to seek new dreams of what I want to do, who I want to be. And its exciting to start to nudge that door open and peek at what future I can envision. I don't know yet what my dreams are going to be. I saw a post by McKarazy that really struck a chord in me (thank you again for that post). I think I want to work toward being able to take some period of time each year to work on mission trips. This is new and nebulous really but it feels right. So now I have the glimmers of a dream that's going to let me explore possiiblities I hadn't thought of before. Dang! This is great.

FormerDoormat

My sister and I have a shared dream. We want to open a bakery that offers high-end designer cakes, cookies, and other treats, and also offers lovely lunches featuring our favorite foods.

We've already picked out the place we'd like to purchase: a lovely turn-of-the-century store that's been abandoned for years. We'd love to restore it to its former glory. We've picked out a name for our shop, designed our logo and business cards and have started to offer our goods at local events to test the market. So far the response to our products has been fabulous.

Our potential new house would be a 10-minute drive to the shop. That would improve my life immensely since I'm currently commuting 110 miles R/T each day. So, we've past the dream stage, are deeply enmeshed in the planning stage, and hope to move on to the action phase and become business partners within the next year or two.

It doesn't matter whether my medium is a paint brush, a computer, an unfinished interior, and unkept garden, or a wedding cake waiting to be adorned. If there's something that's lacking in beauty or style, then that's where you'll find me working my magic.

CatsPajamas

I have always wanted to be a novelist. I have plenty of material for character development... I'm just not ready to take the next step. I guess it's still a wish and not a dream, certainly not a goal or I'd be working towards it!