Reaching for the Moon

“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” ~ Louisa May Alcott


When I was a young girl, my family and I lived in a high-rise apartment building in the heart of the city. I loved sitting on the balcony at night, when the noise from the street had finally quieted down and the horizon came to life as a parade of lights. I especially loved to sit out there when the moon was full, since I find very few things to be as impressive and mystical as the jolly, tangerine-hued face of the moon peeking through the buildings. One night, it looked so big that I distinctly remember thinking I could touch it if I just reached far enough. Although touching the moon was not an option, I still enjoyed the feeling of peace and the pale light which seemed to enshroud everything in a silvery cloak of dreams and magic.


Not everyone dreams of touching the moon, but most of us set goals for ourselves. Some of the goals are little more than a speck of hope in the far distance, while some others are immediate plans we set out to achieve in our daily lives. Regardless of how practical, unthinkable, big or small our goals are, they can be achieved. If someone has reached them before us, it only means that a door must exist to get there. It may not be the first one we knock on, or even the second or third ones, but a path to our dreams certainly exists, if we are willing to put in the footwork to find it.


I remember having this conversation with my son, one night, while he was telling me about his passion for drumming. He felt that becoming a professional drummer is an impossible dream and he should focus on something more “concrete”. Given that he was raised by me, I was speechless…impossible? Nothing is impossible. The road might be rocky, and the journey a rough one, but if one has a clear destination in mind, going from point A to point B can definitely be in the cards.


Sticking with a personal goal is simpler than most think, as long as we realize that initial failure is nothing more than a stepping stone toward future success. An old proverb even states that we should fall seven times and get up eight. Short-term goals are probably the hardest ones to keep up with, as what motivates us to achieve them rarely originates in the fire of an individual’s inner passion; our resolve can easily deflate and we lose our momentum. By setting small goals and working toward them, we raise our inner bar of self-discipline, and through the joy of humble victories along the way we train for the marathon of touching the moon.


We don’t need to set our goals into the future – today is as good a day as any to get motivated, set goals, and begin to make changes, even if small ones. After all, all great runners started once by learning how to put one foot in front of the other. Time and persistence did the rest.

The Day Isabel Came to Life

With two kids home from school for the summer (one of them is visiting grandparents in Europe), personal engagements seem to find their place at the bottom of the proverbial list. When it was suggested to me by a friend that I should go meet the owner of Abagayle’s Books and Collectibles in Henderson in the hope of getting my books into her store, I called and talked to Abby, the owner.

Abby was very nice and personable, and I was amazed, after hanging up, to see that we had talked for almost an hour. We weren’t sure about dates for a signing, so I proposed to bring some books to her and try to find a day that was good for both of us.

Easy as pie, right? Think again…one day we had decided to get together, something came up for me and I had to cancel; the next attempt was killed in its infancy by my daughter being sick for almost a week, and the one after that Abby was busy with events taking place at the store that day.

We set up yet another date for this past Tuesday, and FINALLY nothing got in the way – no suddenly-formed hurricanes, middle-of-the-night emergencies or other assorted obstacles; this time no hail or high water could stop me…I was going to Henderson.

It took me a little less than an hour to get there, and only a few seconds to find a parking spot. I walked into the store, and saw a lady sitting on a chair in front of the counter; never having met Abby before, I wasn’t sure if it was her. But, the surprises were only about to begin. Another face came into vision to greet us, and when I focused on the person the voice had come from, my own voice got stuck for a moment – standing in front of me, in flesh and bones, was the perfect incarnation of one of the characters in my book. I think my brain took a few moments to fully absorb the surprise of the moment, and before I knew it, I found myself participating into a conversation with Abby and the other lady in the store.

After the customer left, Abby took me and Morgan to a small sitting area in the back of the store, where we settled into comfortable chairs and started chatting. If she had just looked like Isabel the first moment I saw her, now she even sounded like her! Similar circumstances had taken her to North Carolina, and her wisdom was not of this world. I really believe that if my daughter hadn’t gotten hungry, I would have loved to stay there and talk to her for much longer. We compared experiences, talked about our families and traditions, of life in Louisiana and North Carolina, and ultimately, I felt an incredible connection with her that couldn’t be easily explained.

After I left, Morgan fell asleep in the car, so I had ample time to think as I drove. How strange was it that I would run into someone that so incredibly resembled someone else I had made up in my own mind? She wasn’t a mere character, but a real person with a real history, whose true life destiny was very much aligned with a fictional one. I couldn’t find the link, though my mind shot in all possible directions, desperately trying to make sense of something so irrationally delightful.

And so, I came to a conclusion…could it be that we “think up” the people we are going to meet because, though we haven’t met them yet, we already know them? Could it be that we think what will happen tomorrow already happened, and our minds just haven’t accepted it yet, thus making it only available as a thought?

No one can credit or discredit such a theory, because in reality, there is a lot about the spiritual and soul realms we still don’t understand. And, ultimately, I don’t have to understand this for it to be manifesting. All I need to know is that a warm, kind character has come to life; for that, I am very grateful.

The Tree House

"In order to reach your goals, you will have to climb a long way and be frightened. But take it a step at a time"

Those were the words a kind uncle uttered one day, as his young niece expressed her fear of climbing the ladder leading to the tree house he had built. Their home was a two- story Victorian with a steep pitched roof. The tree house was in an old Oak tree, and it was higher than the roof top of the Victorian house. To the little girl who stood at the bottom of the tree, the tree house seemed to float above the clouds, and she was apprehensive about going up. Despite her fears, her uncle gently nudged her to start climbing.

Many years later, as she worked her way through college, and struggled juggling jobs and school work, the girl always remembered that day, and thoughts of the tree house propelled her forward toward achieving greater heights.

Even if the heights we are attempting to reach are not unthinkable ones, it is quite common to be frightened when we contemplate our goals. Just like the tree house, our dreams seem exceedingly distant and it is easy to forget that each step gets us closer to destination.

We may not see the results right away, and that’s usually discouraging. Once a goal is set, faith must carry us the rest of the way. We can’t look down, or else we will fall. We can only go forward, one step at a time, knowing that we WILL get to the tree house if we keep up our efforts.

Growing up, I had a friend who had weight problems. Periodically, she would get motivated to try a new diet, but after following it for a week or two, she would give up. When I asked why she didn’t stick with the regimen, she always replied that she wasn’t losing any weight anyway. In reality, it was not true. Even after a week, one could tell that something was slightly changing, but it would have taken several weeks to see noticeable results. The change was not dramatic enough to keep her committed to her goal.

A few years ago, I ran into her while visiting my parents, and saw that she had lost an amazing amount of weight. When I asked her what had finally worked, she said: "I just decided to stick with the diet, regardless of the immediate lack of reward." Although she could not see tangible results, she had decided to have faith and continue – the pounds began to melt off, and a new woman, smiling and confident, was born.

Fear of failure is probably the greatest deterrent of going far. We are afraid of not making it, so we don’t even try. Once that fear is conquered, and faith takes over, the worst is done.

The little girl of the story had a special place in the heart for the uncle that encouraged her to climb the tree house and she will always know that when she is scared of anything, she can think of that beautiful, sunny day.

I am certain her uncle, who recently passed away, is smiling down at her from the top of the tree house, proud of all she has conquered. In fact, I think he is doing that right now.

http://www.sandracarringtonsmith.com

The Sun and the Watery Tower

"Keep your mind on the things you want and off the things you don't want." ~ Hannah Whitall Smith


A few months ago I had a recurring dream. In the dream, my family and I were driving somewhere near the beach, and suddenly a wall of water rose from the ocean and formed an extremely tall and terrifying tower of water. In one dream, we were on the higher level of a parking deck when the first wave came down, and although panic was quickly spreading all around us, we knew we were safe.

After that, I had similar version of the same dream on different occasion, but one of them in particular really caught my attention. Unlike the majority of dreams which are nothing more than snippets of unrelated debris from the previous day, this dream was as clear as a film; if I close my eyes right now, I can still see it.

In the dream, my family and I were once again driving parallel to the coast, looking at crashing waves while we pleasantly cruised along. Unexpectedly, the sky turned dark toward the southeast and the wind began to blow. Suddenly, the water started receding, and it pulled itself up in a tower ever higher and scarier than the one in preceding dreams. I stood in front of it, knowing that it was only a matter of time before it would fall back down. Standing in front of the powerful mass of water - so high up in the sky I couldn’t even see the top – panic seized my entire being. I looked up at the dark water ready to swallow me in its fluid bite and then closed my eyes, hoping to savor the last few moments on this earth.

A thought flashed through my mind. Without wasting any time on rationalizing whether it would work or not, I opened my eyes, and turned to look toward the west, where the sun was still shining. I tried my best to detach from the feeling of fear gripping my very soul, and focused on the healing power of the sun. As I kept my concentration centered on the sun, I could see with the corner of my eye that the tower of water was getting smaller. Without questioning what was happening I continued doing just that – I ignored the fear and focused on the one thing that, I felt in my heart, could neutralize the killer wave. The mass of water continued shrinking, until, finally, it disappeared.

I don’t remember much about the rest of the dream, aside from the fact that we were back in the car and driving to some other location.

When I woke up the next morning, I couldn’t shake the dream, and continued to think about it for the next several days. I still occasionally do, although I no longer feel a sense of dread when I think of the wall of water looming over us. I believe this dream contained a powerful lesson, for it highlighted our ability to fight adversities by focusing our energy on their opposites.

We might be powerless in front of some seemingly insurmountable threats in our path, but something exists which can neutralize each of them. There is no ill in the world without an antidote; to find it we need to understand the nature of what is looming in front of us and beam our energy in the opposite direction. Some monsters can be big and scary, but it is comforting to know their opposites pack just as powerful a punch.

A Wish Upon A Star

“Star light, Star bright, the first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.” ~


When I woke up early in the morning, I had no idea what an amazing day yesterday would turn out to be. In so many ways, March 4 was special already, as it marked the first day of my oldest son attending a driving class. The rest of the day passed relatively uneventful, and it was almost seven o’clock when I finally got home. I started dinner and helped my daughter glue a small project she was working on, mindlessly stirring a pot of beef stew while some of the layers were drying.

By the time I went to check the mail, the sun had gone down, and one could feel a definite chill in the air; the street was quiet, softly wrapped in a dark blanket only interrupted by the yellow light filtering out of the blinds in neighbor’s windows. I opened the mailbox and stuck my hand inside, expecting to retrieve a handful of junk mail and maybe a bill or two, and I was quite surprised to find instead a large, stuffed envelope. At first thought, I assumed it was from my parents, although neither of them had alerted me of anything on the way; when I looked at the sender, my mouth instantly dried.

There in front of me was an envelope sent by my publisher, and unless the information my fingers sent to my brain was wrong, the content felt like books! I am expecting advance copies of Housekeeping for the Soul, but I didn’t think I would receive them until next week at the earliest, so this was a surprise I wasn’t prepared for. I took the envelope into the kitchen and opened one side; when my eyes caught sight of something black, my heart stopped! Could it be? Was it? Was I about to see a finished copy of the novel I have worked on for the last three years?

I pulled the first book out and just stared at it speechlessly. Due to be out in June, I suppose it never occurred to me that some advanced copies had already gone to the printer; and instead, here it was in front of me, the dream I never thought would materialize, in all its glory of three-hundred pages and bound with a beautiful cover. I don’t think that I could forget this first moment even if I lived two-hundred years…tears ran down my cheeks, and my hands shook. I took the book to the living room and sat on the couch. Instantly, I was hit with the realization of how magical this entire journey has been, and of how many angels have crossed my path to make it happen.

The first angel was a kind agent I met at the beginning of the journey, a no-nonsense lady who clearly told me the story had merit but needed to be cleaned out by a professional editor. She told me to get back in touch with her after completing the edit, as she would like to have first option at representing it. The search for an editor led to Dena, my amazing literary half who helped me turn a dream into reality. When the book was ready – or so I thought at the time – I e-mailed the same agent, but the e-mails bounced back. Today I realize that her only role in this was to point out the direction I should take, and once that was fulfilled she was gone. The rest of the story I have told times before, so I won’t go into details, but I think it is important to be aware that once an intention is set, not only does Universe get things in motion by arranging events and encounters, but strangely, the right people seem to walk into the scene at the exactly the right moment.

Throughout this journey I have met many angels – some have been champions of support, others have helped with editing and proof reading, and some more have come in with powerful suggestions. There are no words that can describe how grateful I am to everyone who made this whole process possible, and how humbled I am by the power of Universe, for once again it has showed me that if you put a wish upon a star and believe it will happen, a dream can someday become a beautiful reality.

Be careful what you wish for...you might get it

"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson


I believe that prayers are answered. I also believe that Universe indulges us exactly with what we ask – if we are not clear when we formulate our request, the result will be just as ambiguous as the petition. Among a list of situations I have personally experienced, I think three of them really drive the point home.

As I explain the first situation, I need to backtrack a bit to the time when I first finished writing my novel. After many rejections, it was suggested to me that I should hire a professional editor to clean the story and make it appealing to major publishers. I had no clue how to find an editor, but I knew exactly what I wanted in one and told a couple of friends about it. Just a few days later – and a lot of prayers detailing exactly what I was looking for – a friend called me. She told me that another friend of hers had gotten back in touch with her after years they hadn’t talked, and she thought of me the moment she reconnected with the old friend, since this lady was a freelance editor and my friend knew I was looking for one. We hit it off immediately and an amazing professional relationship was born; if I went around the world twice with a flashlight I could not find another jewel like her.

The second situation involves my oldest son. In first grade he had a teacher from hell. The poor kid cried every morning at the thought of being in her class, and no matter how many times I talked to the school, little changed. One night, I went over a friend and we decided to meditate together. In my spiritual tradition, I was taught to “act out” prayers to send out stronger vibes into the Universe. A Barbie doll was the closest thing I could think of which reminded me of the type of person I wanted as my son’s teacher - young, always smiling and kind. I threw the doll into the fire we had built outside and mentally asked for Stephen to find a teacher who could be just as sweet as I picture Barbie to be. A couple of months went by, and Stephen got a new teacher; a young lady who had just started her teaching career, with long blond hair, blue eyes, and the sweetest smile ever. Needless to say, we had a wonderful year; the new teacher was everything I had hoped for, and she was just as beautiful inside as she was outside.

The third and final situation is funny, if one thinks of it. After my novel was sold, my mind started moving to the next goal, and I began to fantasize about getting my writing into movies. I think I phrased my wish just like that, and that’s exactly what I got. My novel didn’t become a movie –which is what I meant – but I was contacted by someone who read my blog to see if I could help with a few scenes in an independent film. Still in reference to the novel, I tried to broadcast good energy out to the Universe, and I visualized selling a whole lot of copies. In my fantasy, I saw the publisher write down a number – 100,000 – and just about a week after that, I dug out an old money clip from the sandbox at the nearby playground; it was gold-plated, and on the top it had the design of a 100,000 banknote!

So, before we send out a prayer or a wish of any kind, let’s remember to be clear in what we are asking, as we just might get what Universe thought we meant.

The Dream of Reality

“Enlightenment begins with disillusionment.” ~ Crewmax


Someone once asked me how I can tell the difference between reality and fantasy. What if – this person asked – what we perceive as “reality” is indeed a dream, something made out by our subconscious, and we aren’t really living it after all but only believing we are?

That question got me thinking. Indeed, is it possible that we aren’t living at all, and we are just dreaming our lives? Could we be caught in a very sophisticated dream state science hasn’t been able to identify yet, a state of the art virtual life our spirit is “living” to understand certain concepts? After all, dreams are a tool our minds use to organize thoughts.

Of course, this would be a discussion which could go off in many different tangents, but one of the things that are interesting to ponder is what we perceive as reality and what we perceive as illusion. Since early childhood, we are taught that ‘real” things must be measured through the five senses, and nothing which can’t be confirmed in a controlled environment should be considered real. Nothing is further from the truth. Physical attraction, for example, can be analyzed through physical signs, but true love can’t; connecting hands can be seen by others, but spiritual or emotional connection – although just as real and powerful as holding hands with someone – cannot be fully proven.

Very often, what we perceive as real through our taught patterns of rational thinking is in fact just something we have learned in our environment; if we were raised by different people, in a different society, or with different values, we would likely rationalize events differently. In the western world especially, we have come to associate our identity with what we have. The more we physically “own” – beauty, financial affluence, friends – the better we feel about ourselves. We perceive the golden ones as having everything they desire because they deserve it; if we don’t have those things, then we aren’t worth our own self-love or the love of others.

Having is not as important as being. Each of us is a unique aspect of creation, and as such we are indispensable, regardless of what we have or don’t have. Jesus himself had nothing, yet His passage on earth is still touching people two thousand years later. By the time we leave this earthly plane, what will count will be whatever we have done for others, not what we have done for ourselves. We can’t aspire to elevate our souls until we are able to detach from the rational illusion of being what we have.

We can certainly joke around and say we are living a dream, but unfortunately, for many, the dream is a nightmare; at least until they awaken, and realize that reality can only be found at the core and Armani isn’t the one who designed it.

A Path to Neverland

“Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams.” ~ Author unknown


Yesterday I went with my daughter to watch the Disney on Ice show. As expected, it was quite amazing – the music, the lights, the special effects and costumes validated, once again, the quality of entertainment Disney is able to deliver.

It was pure delight to watch my daughter’s face light up when the first handful of characters came out, but what truly amazed me was the fact that just a few minutes into the show I was swept away and carried into a land of dreams.

As an adult, it is hard to explain that feeling. Watching the old familiar characters parade on the ice, and being suddenly transported back to a time in my life when worries and obligations didn’t exist and everything was magical, allowed me to tap into a place in my heart most adults don’t visit too often.

Just a few days ago I was listening to a song by Supertramp on the radio, The Logical Song, in which the author speaks of a time in his life when everything was magical and he was in tune with beauty and creation; after he was sent away to school and he was taught to direct his thinking to satisfy the demands of society, he lost touch with his inner child; the beauty around him was gone, taking away with it his sense of self.

Certainly, to survive within the folds of society we are required to refine some of our thinking and skills, but we should never completely lose touch with the part of ourselves which connects to a simpler world, a peaceful land where everything is possible.

Unguarded emotions can be dangerous and can quickly lead to dangerous depths if one is not cautious of their overwhelming power, but even when following a rigorous regime of self-discipline, one should still hold on to the invisible cord connecting us to our inner child and to the possibility that dreams can be turned into reality if enough passion, effort and dedication are poured into them. As Gail Devers once said, "All dreams are possible for those who believe."

When we stop dreaming, we forget who we truly are. Simple pleasures are the precious stones bejeweling the path to personal bliss. By following their dazzling light we might, in the end, find the path to Neverland.

“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, Tomorrow will be dying.” ~ Robert Herrick


A few days ago I went to the post office with my five-year-old daughter. While we stood in line, she talked non-stop, her little voice filling in the pockets of silence so common in an adult setting. A gentleman in front of us seemed particularly amused by her constant chatter, and turned several times to kindly smile at her; his approval infused her with even more energy – if that’s indeed possible – and she talked about everything, from Santa Claus to the playground at the park, and even about her doll that doesn’t cry anymore because she fed it too much water. She patiently waited by my side, but could not stand still for more than a couple of seconds; one or more parts of her tiny body were constantly moving, energized by the quick silver of youth.

In contrast, the gentleman in front of us appeared tired. He stood without complaining, but it was painfully obvious that he was uncomfortable. Yet, his face was kind and his smile gentle, acceptance and appreciation gracefully etched in the lines of his face.

My gaze darted back and forth from my daughter to the old gentleman several times. In front of me was the human equivalent of a day in time – my daughter was the passion and fire of sunrise, the boundless energy and hope of a new day; the kind gentleman was the sunset, with his composed and gentle energy, able to paint everything with the breathtaking colors of knowledge and wisdom accumulated throughout the day. He lacked the powerful energy of sunrise, but his gift was one of acceptance of all that can’t be changed.

And here I stood in the middle, my own presence that of midday. I realized then that I don’t have the unspoiled energy of sunrise, nor do I have the peaceful wisdom of a beautiful sunset, but I do stand on a platform between the two – I still have the energy to change things I don’t appreciate in my world, and the ability to focus on goals that are important to me. Standing in the middle of the path, I have learned that some things should just be embraced for what they are, positive or negative, while some others are still worth fighting for. I have accepted that I can’t change the world, but I am in charge of fostering my own happiness. I no longer care much about petty behaviors and superficial rewards, yet I start each day with the unbridled hope of a child on Christmas Eve.

I wondered if the old gentleman’s thoughts floated anywhere along the same lines as he watched us, two generations eagerly walking the footsteps he left behind. I wondered if he had any regrets, or any dreams he hadn’t been able to fulfill which he had stored into a drawer of his soul. Watching him filled me with resolve – why wait until tomorrow to do something about today? As Mother Teresa so wisely said: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

One Reason to Believe in Yourself

“Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.” ~ Robert Anthony


As I drove home from my monthly writers’ meeting, last night, I reflected upon the many opportunities I have had this past year to grow and expand my passion for writing.

It was only three years ago, that writing professionally was nothing more than a far-away dream, a distant star I could watch and wish upon but not quite hold. On a very early morning on July 2006, I woke up with a handful of words in my head; as I went about my daily routines they continued to nag at me until I picked up pen and paper and wrote them down. That night, after the kids went to bed, I transferred that first sentence to a notebook.

Those few words spun more, until the story began to take a life of its own. When I finally finished the first draft, about a month later, I was thrilled that I had finally been able to write a full-length novel, but I thought it was going to age inside a drawer. I let a couple of my closest friends read it and they all seem to like the story line, so I gathered more confidence and showed it to a few more people. Finally, one day, someone asked me if I was going to try to get it published. Instantly I began to formulate in my mind all the reasons it wouldn’t go anywhere. My friend looked at me and asked: “Now that you’ve come up with all the reason it couldn’t make it, can you think of a few why it could?”

I thought about it for a moment, and the only thing that came to mind was that it was a unique story which didn’t really fit any specific genre. “There,” my friend said, “it’s something new and refreshing. It could make it just because of that.” I chewed those words around for a couple of days, and with each passing moment I began to feel that there was no harm in trying, so I decided to give it a shot.

Months continued to pass, and rejections kept piling up; many times I felt like giving up, but every time I got really fed up, something or someone would come along and encourage me to keep trying. In time, I signed up with a literary agent and the book – along with another one she had asked me to write to set a platform – sold to a publisher. What attracted the publisher to it was the very same reason I thought of when my friend asked three years before – the story was different than many already on the market and belonged to a category of its own.

What started as a hobby turned into the incarnation of a life-long passion, only because the focus was shifted from what couldn’t work to what probably could. The rest was a wonderful and unexpected journey.

If I had listened to the thousand-and-one reasons my mind had come up with as a shield to protect me from possible failure, I would still be staring at my wishing star from the window of an unfulfilled dream.

So, no matter how arduous your dream is, if you can think it you can reach it. Believe in yourself.

Dreaming of Butterfly Wings

“When I sound the fairy call,
Gather here in silent meeting,
Chin to knee on the orchard wall,
Cooled with dew and cherries eating.
Merry, merry, Take a cherry
Mine are sounder, Mine are rounder
Mine are sweeter, for the eater
When the dews fall. And you'll be fairies all.” ~ Emily Dickinson


Few things are as disarming as the innocent and wondrous eyes of a small child asking for the impossible. I saw those eyes yesterday, when my daughter marched down to the kitchen and asked me how she could get wings and a tail.

A quick glance at my puzzled face told her I was lost, so she proceeded to explain to me that she had decided to be a real fairy. And not a regular fairy, thank you very much – she wanted to be a fairy mermaid, and be able to fly and swim at the same time.

On first instinct – probably out of frustration because she was stepping over my wet floor – I was tempted to tell her that only birds and planes can fly, and only fish can live under the sea. Then I made a fatal mistake – I looked at her eyes. Two huge pools of blue crystal set into a cherub face, staring at me in hope and profound awe.

All I could say was “You’re still a little young, Honey. You need to wait a bit longer, until the queen of fairies decides you are ready.”

Satisfied with my reply she smiled, turned on her heels, and went back to watch the rest of the movie, as I finally released the breath I had been holding in. I went back to my floor – now smeared by little fairy footprints – and thought about my daughter’s wish. A tail and wings. Maybe that wasn’t such an unreasonable request after all.

A tail is used to swim and move gracefully through something fluid and ever changing in form. Like water, emotions can be nurturing or drowning, and as a parent, I strive to teach my children how to deal with feelings in general. By guiding them toward being able to handle a varied range of emotions, I’m indeed giving them the gift of a tail.

Similarly, we teach our children how to spread their own wings and learn how to fly; we give them tools to catch the winds of change under their wings and use those opportunities to lift themselves high above the storms of life.

For once I hadn’t just fallen for the depth of my daughter’s eyes, but I had happily realized that I can make a huge difference in her world. With or without pixie dust I can be the queen of fairies.

What Might Have Been

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Eliot

It is never too late. I can’t recall how many times I heard that phrase growing up. I believe it must have been my parents’ favorite thing to say, because it seemed to follow every sentence they uttered each time my sister and I worried about something.

Indeed, no matter how many mistakes one has made, or how many times things have gone wrong, or opportunities have missed their chance to manifest, luck, circumstances and attitudes can always take a sudden turn.

I once read of a lady who had always wanted to go to college, but never had the means when she was young. Being the oldest of eight children, she was, at first, too busy helping her mother raise her younger siblings; after that she married and started a family of her own.

When her husband died she was nearly seventy-five years of age, and her children had all grown and moved out. It was time for her to decide what she was going to do with the years she had left – for once in her life she had no one to be responsible for but herself. If she looked back to the days of her youth, her only regret was to not have received a college education. So she decided to make up for that.

She enrolled at the local university - although family and friends tried to discourage her plans - and for the next four years she diligently took all the credit courses she needed to graduate in business management. By the time she graduated she was seventy-nine, but she proudly posed for photos on her big day.

She was never able to put her skills to use, since she was too old for employment and died just a few weeks short of her eightieth birthday, but for almost a whole year she lived knowing she had crowned her dream of being a college graduate.

Some of our ambitions may be more modest than those of the lady who graduated, but if they are important to us they are worth pursuing. We may not achieve the full extent of our dreams, but can be creative as we try to get close to the original idea.

I’ve always believed that where there is a will there’s a way, and as long as our plans do not harm anyone on the path to being fulfilled, we shouldn’t hold back or tell ourselves it is too late. And maybe what we might have been can still become who we are.

Instant Reward vs Long-Term Benefits

“Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell.” ~ Author Unknown

Yesterday I had the best time talking to my daughter and two of her little friends, as they were telling me what they want to be when they grow up. Although Princess was definitely on top of the chart, the next two hot personas on the “want to be” list were mommy and model.

That fun talk made me think about all the projects that we envision and give up because of obstacles and hardship. Are obstacles the main reason for abandoning our goals? Or could it be that instant reward often gets in the way of our allegiance to the original plan?

Humans are naturally creatures of comfort, and will choose the easy path that will cause the least amount of unease. Unless we are able to exercise a good dose of self-discipline, most of us are inclined to take the easy road and succumb to the temptation of instant reward.

Long-term benefits offer a reward which is often in our greater interest but might take months or years to solidify, while temporary satisfaction manifest immediately but is likely not what we need in the long run. When we give in to temptation we feel momentarily exhilarated, but quickly develop feelings of guilt as we feel that we have cheated ourselves. Instant reward can come in the form of indulgence or as a band-aid – regardless of which we act upon, we feel frustrated with ourselves and are more likely to give in on future occasions.

There are ways to build a stronger resolve. One of them is to set small goals for ourselves - not too far down the road - and stick with them, independently from the fires that erupt around us. We can increase the amount of time between the original plan and the reward and continue telling ourselves that it is only a temporary state of discomfort.

Everything can be overcome one step at a time, if we accept that life itself is dynamic and thus on a constant energy shift. If I was to wake up tomorrow morning and someone told me to quit smoking forever, I would find that thought overwhelming; if, instead, I was told to quit for a day, or an hour at a time, I could summon the resolve to follow through for such a short time. We can’t keep our mind focused on forever but everyone can sacrifice for one day.

Maybe, then, our long-term reward can become a much closer goal – one we can feel comfortable sticking with in preparation of bigger things to come.

Reaching for the Moon

“Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.” ~ Louisa May Alcott

When I was a young girl, my family and I lived in a high-rise apartment building in the heart of the city. I loved sitting on the balcony at night, when the noise from the street had finally quieted down and the horizon came to life as a parade of lights. I especially loved to sit out there when the moon was full, since I find very few things to be as impressive and mystical as the jolly, tangerine-hued face of the moon peeking through the buildings. One night, it looked so big that I distinctly remember thinking I could touch it if I just reached far enough.

Although touching the moon was not an option, I still enjoyed the feeling of peace and the pale light which seemed to enshroud everything in a silvery cloak of dreams and magic.

Not everyone dreams of touching the moon, but most of us set goals for ourselves. Some of the goals are little more than a speck of hope in the far distance, while some others are immediate plans we set out to achieve in our daily lives. Regardless of how practical, unthinkable, big or small our goals are, they can be achieved. If someone has reached them before us, it only means that a door must exist to get there. It may not be the first one we knock on, or even the second or third ones, but a path to our dreams certainly exists, if we are willing to put in the footwork to find it.

I remember having this conversation with my son, one night, while he was telling me about his passion for drumming. He felt that becoming a professional drummer is an impossible dream and he should focus on something more “concrete”. Given that he was raised by me, I was speechless…impossible? Nothing is impossible. The road might be rocky, and the journey a rough one, but if one has a clear destination in mind, going from point A to point B can definitely be in the cards.

Sticking with a personal goal is simpler than most think, as long as we realize that initial failure is nothing more than a stepping stone toward future success. An old proverb even states that we should fall seven times and get up eight.

Short-term goals are probably the hardest ones to keep up with, as what motivates us to achieve them rarely originates in the fire of an individual’s inner passion; our resolve can easily deflate and we lose our momentum. By setting small goals and working toward them, we raise our inner bar of self-discipline, and through the joy of humble victories along the way we train for the marathon of touching the moon.

We don’t need to set our goals into the future – today is as good a day as any to get motivated, set goals, and begin to make changes, even if small ones. After all, all great runners started once by learning how to put one foot in front of the other. Time and persistence did the rest.

Holding on to Faith

Last night I had a strange dream. I was driving down some unknown road, and suddenly I came upon a road block. I got out of the car to see what the problem was, and saw a table set up on the side of the road, with a small fish bowl in the middle. Inside the bowl the water was very murky, but a small orange goldfish was still alive in it. It looked undernourished, but very much alive. When I picked up the bowl, the fish flipped and almost came out of the water, so I ran to get some fresher water and some food for him. I figured it would take some time to bring the tiny creature back to its prime, but with good food, a little TLC and the appropriate amount of time everything would be alright.
Then I woke up. I lied in bed awake for a while, wondering what on God’s green earth the dream was about. I began to speculate what the fish might symbolize for me, and why the little fellow was stuck in such a bad place, not conducive to its growth.
I thought about faith. Could it be it? Has my faith faltered during this time of hardship for our country? Maybe a little.
I was raised to be very driven by the power of Spirit, and have always felt reassured that things will, somehow, work themselves out.
I think lately, as many others have, I have been unknowingly thrust into the vacuum of anxiety which has enshrouded our world. Not entirely, mind you, but I have found myself wondering what will happen. I think that all the hatred spewed around the political race, the failing economic situation and the general anxiety which has greatly been exploited by the media have taken a toll on most of us.
I woke up this morning with a different type of resolve: I am claiming back my full faith. No longer will I get wrapped into the ugliness of things, if I can help it, and I will once again “know” that everything is going to be alright. Somehow, things will find the path to straighten up, and all the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place.
I don’t believe in coincidences, and know that everything happens for a reason. We have come to associate our self-worth to material possessions, but have now come to a crossroad where we need, once again, to shed that notion.
Spirit is known by many names, depending on the tradition one follows, but the essence of It remains the same. Spirit is ever present to hold our hand and lead us out of the dark cave we have, halfway consciously, trapped ourselves into.
We will survive the hardship and, because of it, we will be better people. We only need to believe and reach out to one another, rather than isolating ourselves. We just need to nourish our faith a little more, and fish it back out of the murky water it has survived into.