Unburdened dreaming

Just a few days ago I caught my little son daydreaming. He pulled a blanket on our carpet, grabbed a pillow from the sofa, and quietly lied down losing himself into some world unknown to me. I smiled understandingly.

I saw both myself and my husband in this daydreaming. We both do that– we lose ourselves in thoughts, in wondering. A lot of it is purposeful, of course. A lot of it is planning and problem-solving, and reflection on past events but not all… and thank God for that.

The dreaming that I wish I was doing more often is that in Beatrix Potter’s style, where rabbits and ducks wonderfully misbehave and talk too much. The dreaming that makes you giggle to yourself, the dreaming that ends without a list of things to do or to have. The dreaming that leaves you relaxed and entertained. Unburdened dreaming.

These days we are only supposed to have a wish list, aren’t we? Dreaming about having, dreaming about goods is encouraged, the opposite is true of dreaming fiction.

I really wish that my son will be searching the depths of his imagination for cheer, comfort and encouragement, that he will develop a strong dreaming muscle that will help him counter those dreams that consume one’s energy by pressing you to want more.

The real dreams of a real and creative child, do you still have them?

Music from Miss Potter: biographical movie about Beatrix Potter directed by Chris Noonan
Katie Melua – When You Taught Me How To Dance

It’s the action, not the fruit..

“ It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

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Nothing New: Lesson Learned

When at the beginning of this year Sash at Inked in Colour started her Nothing New project, I was in the process of managing and sorting our household possessions and so I thought to myself, I’ll join her. Our drawers and wardrobes were full, our cupboards were full and despite my decluttering efforts, with all the new stuff that comes with having a growing up baby, I still felt really bogged down. I felt that the Nothing New project is a perfect solution for our family and I really didn’t think that having new items would in any way add to the quality of our existence.

To firm up my resolution I decided to save the money that I would otherwise spend on my clothes and other small temptations and give them to charity towards the end of this year. Marathon runners do it. They train, they run, they sweat and they raise funds. I thought I would exercise my strong will and I’ll do the same. In the village where I grew up generosity has always been seen as a core value. I would not feel at ease with myself if I did otherwise. After all, this project is not only about buying nothing new but also about sharing. These were my purposes: decluttering and sharing – but actually there are other things at stake here… things that I have just recently learnt to fully appreciate…

There is something disconcerting about human nature and this is our capacity and tendency to neglect the old when the prospect of the new emerges… I’ve seen it many times… you must have too. Stopping the inflow of new items into your house makes you really aware of it, makes it all overt.

Perhaps the most wonderful side effect of the Nothing New project is that it makes you more caring. You care about what’s at your hand, about what’s present and about what’s around you. You care and you take pride in it because you are making a visible difference to what’s just next to you, to your surroundings and you train yourself to make the best and long-lasting use of it. You learn to truly and wholeheartedly love…

…the environment.

You don’t want to consume mindlessly or you just don’t want to consume like you used to…

…it’s no longer a comfortable norm to follow.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall