Tag / freedom

by Janet

Dreams in the Mist

I don’t know if anyone else ever falls into this trap, but I constantly find myself trying to turn my dreams—or the things I love—into some kind of product, as if they’re things I need to own. It’s like the person who loves to swim, who’ll never be satisfied until their backyard has a pool… or the occasional fisherman who believes he’ll find ultimate happiness ONLY after he buys a boat.

And you know what they say: “The happiest days of a boat owner’s life are the day they buy a boat—and the day they sell the boat.”

Well, all of my hemming and hawing over my college major came to a wonderful close recently when I considered these analogies. I realized that I’ve been too fixated on the road… or the tangible outcomes (degrees)… and somewhere in the interim I lost sight of my dreams; the things I actually LOVE to do—just for the sake of doing them.

I made a decision to venture off the pathway this spring; I’ve enrolled in Creative Writing and Photography. I’m not changing my major—or adding a second major—and I really have no destination in sight.

For now I’m just going to listen to my heart, do what I love… and enjoy my dreams in the mist.

—Janet

Nova’s Daily Random Word #39: Dream

by Janet

Stealing the Spotlight

You can’t put her in a cage and expect her song to be about you. – JM Storm

This is the third time I’ve posted an image of our old, vacant birdhouse. The very first time was in black and white.

I did the old “make it look like a painting” editing job again, and I think I figured out why I’m so stuck on that lately. I’ve never been able to draw or paint. I guess I like to do something to my images that gives them that artsy feel because it’s something that I can’t do by hand. That being said, isn’t technology just wonderful!

Anyway, I was outside and that same Japanese Maple tree (with the spider web), where the birdhouse hangs, was letting the sun shine through like a spotlight on that little, old, weathered home. So… I couldn’t resist.

The quote came up when I was looking up sayings about birdhouses. I guess it’s like a cage- in a sense. 😉

I actually really like the quote. No offense to all the happily married people out there, but for me personally it makes me appreciate my “singleness” and freedom. It took a lot of effort for me to refrain from dating because my old beliefs were that a man would “make me whole”. That’s before I found God, of course.

Anyway, now that I’ve got my new mindset in place, it’s so nice to be able to focus on my recovery, my walk with God, art, photography and writing. And no crazy love drama that I was so used to creating. It’s a new “ME” and I really like the way it feels!

That’s about all for now. Off to writing class…

Peace! Love you guys!