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Category Archives: Dreams

A Fissure of Interference . .

06 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Confidence, Dreams, Maturity, Strength, Success

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Confidence, Insecurity, Personal Responsibility, Success

Sometimes in life, we’re waiting for the approval or acceptance of others just to proceed. We give others a lot of weight in our lives via that choice to garner another’s approval and acceptance before we act or speak! By waiting on that opinion of another, we often water down our own talent, point of view, or performance accordingly. We become addicted to the verification which another person’s positive feedback, approval, and acceptance of our actions, words, thoughts, or beliefs provide. We often need that before we do what we think we should, what we’re compelled to do! Instinctively, we often know what we should do. We have talents, skills, dreams and ambitions which motivate our actions. But when we filter those internal drives through the perspective, experience, intellect and understanding of others, we create a fissure of interference for our own success!  We don’t need others to tell us we’re able, we’re good enough, we’re talented, or that we’re going to succeed at something! What we really need more than an opinion, a nod of approval or an avowed acceptance from another, is our own confident assurance in what we’re doing, saying, thinking, and believing! When we care too much what others think regarding our lives, we give away our own power to act and we become increasingly more insecure about ourselves!  

 

Wanting approval or being tied to getting acceptance from others is alright if we aren’t relying upon it. If it’s the icing on our cake of already believing in ourselves and feeling secure in our thoughts, actions, speech and behavior, then it’s more than okay! Especially if it comes in the form of compliments and affirmations of our successes! But if getting approval is our usual way of knowing we can proceed or that we should do something, then it’s just a reflection of our insecurity. We need to know how to do, to say, to be, to think, and to feel independent of others injecting their opinions, beliefs, and dreams into the mix! We are unique individuals, which makes it impossible for others to successfully step into our shoes, to know what is best for us in any regard. It is up to us to make the choices, to step forward into the unknown, that each new day represents, with confidence and self-assurance. We must accept the reality that we’ll win some and we’ll lose some, that we’ll be successful and that we’ll fail, as well as that we’re responsible for the way our lives turn out! When we’re children, others step in to make the decisions which we cannot, but when we reach adulthood, it’s up to us to securely accept the role of the manager of our own lives. 

Insecurity is the inner voice which screams, “I’m not ready!” or “Not yet!” or “Should I?”. Insecurity is what blocks us when we endeavor to pursue our dreams. It is the inner force which gives others more credibility when estimating our abilities or our success. It’s the inability to act unless or until others give us their permission or confirm our preparedness or state of readiness. What a terrible way to live, needing others to give us what we should be able to garner from within! If only we would believe in ourselves and give to ourselves the same level of credibility we seem to easily give to others!    

Learning to rely upon our own instincts, to accept responsibility for our own successes and failures, as well as being eager about the personal growth we’ll experience when we do is key. It’s often seemingly easier to give others the burden of our choices in life, as perhaps it will take the onus of accountability from our own shoulders if we do! But in letting others lead us in our own lives, we also miss all the opportunities we have for character development and for reaping the personal rewards of creating success! Step in eagerly as manager of your own life, in doing so, you will have to accept many things which aren’t perfect, all the failings which result from your own choices, and the burden of regret when things don’t go as you hope. But you also get the successes! You’ll get the esteem-building, confidence-affirming realization that you met the challenge, reached new heights, took a daring step, achieved a dream, and grew more in the process!   

Put Your Heart Into It!

05 Wednesday Aug 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Discipline, Dreams, Happiness, Inspiration, Joy

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Discipline, enthusiasm, Passion

When the heart isn’t into something, it shows! When was the last time you slogged through the day, bereft of any joy and contentment because you had to do something you didn’t want to do or be somewhere you didn’t want to be? Perhaps the last time was yesterday or even earlier today. Perhaps it seems like all the time now!   c0dc4a24f9217c7a154769742cd8b19d

It’s our challenge to not let days, then weeks and entire lifetimes go by with such attitudes. Our heart is the source of our passion. An idea, a belief or a dream may seed first in our thoughts, but the birthplace of our inspiration and our instigation for achieving things is always in our hearts! We don’t get inspired by logical processes or plans laid out methodically in our brains. We get inspired by a light in our soul burning brightly and constantly in our hearts once we begin to nurture that seed. It is what fuels our energy to overcome the doldrums and the blues we may feel as we pursue our dreams and live our lives. If we fail to stoke the fire, the very furnace of our soul’s energy, we will become nothing more than the walking dead. And so it matters to put your heart into most everything you do and to take that enthusiasm and passion with you most everywhere you go!  dis

If you shut out the very source of your passion from your life by focusing on the negative of it all, you are choosing to shut out the ultimate source of your happiness and contentment! Yes it is difficult to carry your passions afire, to keep your heart in things which don’t seem to really be all that exciting or enjoyable. Many things in life just aren’t all that enjoyable or exciting. Our daily lives are filled with things which fall under the classification of boring, dull, monotonous and downright objectionable as a result of their routine nature. But onward we must go and through it all we must persist. If it is all leading us to a destination which promises something much greater, bigger, more rewarding and more pleasurable, then why wouldn’t we? All too often we let the endeavor dictate to us our level of enthusiasm and passion. But we should be taking our enthusiasm and passion with us into our endeavors at a level which honors our hope for the result! Discipline is the price we are willing to pay now for the reward which is coming later! And with our hearts afire, our passions burning, our inspiration keenly focused on some point ahead, we can with discipline and determination choose to make even the most tedious, boring, routine and objectionable parts of life matter!  Signature02

Living Takes A Will . .

23 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Commitment, Conquering Fear, Courage, Dreams, Faith, Growing, Success, Trials

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Hope, Perseverance, Persistence

Living takes a will . . one courageous, trusting and hopeful enough to overlook fear, the “what-ifs” and the scrapes of falling in failure. We cannot dare live, with our eyes closed, behind our protective walls and within our safest confines. Living means we face our fears with courage, we endeavor to meet our challenges head on and we keep climbing no matter how many times we slip or fall from this rung or the next. Living isn’t easy, without obstacle; and it surely isn’t done in the safety of our mind’s making. It takes faith, hope, trust, perseverance as well as a surrender to our inability to control every detail and every outcome. But living is worth every scraped knee we endure, each failure, all of our attempts, each broken heart or broken dream. For in getting those, we lived!  images success

No one ever experiences anything worthwhile when merely existing. Push yourself to go beyond today and every day you get by purposefully living rather than merely existing through them. How do we do that and what is the difference? Living means we are already outside of whatever comfort zone we may have set up for ourselves; it means we dare to realize our dreams, to attempt to make our desires reality and it means we don’t give up on ourselves! Living, as opposed to just existing, means that when faced with challenges, we don’t hide, run or flee. We aren’t going to outrun all of our challenges, so the sooner we learn to step up to the plate each one represents, the better. It is life-affirming, confidence-building and esteem-igniting each and every time we take life’s challenges on for the sake of passing the tests and trials each represents to us. If we run, hide, seek to escape or let others do the heavy-lifting in life, we never learn to trust in ourselves, to believe in ourselves or to have faith and hope in our future!  images5Y99UUMF

Just like with our first steps, our first developmental stages through infancy, life never ceases to present to us challenges and learning experiences which we must overcome and pass in order that we may grow and develop into new stages! And each of those new stages brings more of the same by way of tests and trials which we must learn to pass successfully in order that we grow and develop for what lies ahead. Imagine if we had chosen in our toddler years to remain helpless and infantile? No one does that because adulthood represents an promising period which prompts our desire for more. All children seem to want to leapfrog through their development, eager to grow up before their time. Why then do we suddenly find our scraped knees, fears and failures so overwhelming at some advancing age, that we wish to halt our own progress? Keep pushing through challenges, obstacles and all the mess life brings! The only person you really hurt when you let fear, doubt, insecurity or apathy win is you! Make it your goal to live today, with a will, courage, faith and hope. Don’t let life beat you back, down or out.    Signature02

Holding Our Own Irons To The Fires . .

19 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Choices, Commitment, Contentment, Discipline, Dreams, Inspiration, Patience, Self-Control

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Discipline, Motivation, Self-Control

My best days of success are those in which I have held my own irons to the fire of accomplishment. Whether or not I complete my tasks and reach my goals, each step I take in accomplishment is a success which brings me closer. The habits we form whereby we realize holding ourselves accountable, responsible and important enough in value to deserve the success we desire, are key!

images goal We make habits in various areas of our lives because those habits support our good health, our well-being and our continued contentment in life. We place ourselves in high enough regard via self-love and self-respect to desire the rewards which those daily habits bring such as healthy teeth, focused mind, spiritual soundness, or good comportment as we go out into the world. Self-love compels us to value ourselves and to respect ourselves enough to take up the necessary tasks which keep us physically, mentally and spiritually healthy to the best of our abilities!

flowers So I have learned to self-motivate, to self-propel my way to certain ends by habitually doing what I should when I should. I know what is good and bad for me; so I endeavor to do what is good more often, so that I might reap the rewards of even the smallest steps and measures of success! I don’t compare my journey with that of others in terms of where they are and where I now am; but I determine what it is I desire to have, to be or to experience in life, and work towards those ends knowing I am worth it!

No one else can move us towards that which we desire or give us the motivation for reaching our own goals. That is an internal switch we much activate. Others can help us by supporting our goals through encouragement or even assistance at times; but ultimately, it is up to us to see ourselves over the various finish lines which denote “Mission accomplished!” or “Goal achieved!”. And the best rewards are those which we sought with our fervent will and accomplished through some period of time by our own desire and actions. Success itself is a great motivator, encouraging us to do more and to strive for even beyond what we now imagine. Let your own success fuel you in life by first dreaming, next believing, and finally doing what you must to achieve those ends.  Signature02

Broken Barriers . .

06 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Attitude, Choices, Discipline, Dreams, Faith, Fear, Happiness, Inspiration, Passion, Patience, Peace

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Dreams, enthusiasm, tenacity

Every time I consider the obstacles to my imagination, my beliefs and my dreams, I remember those who truly broke through barriers of seeming common sense and plausibility with theirs! Imagine the Wright brothers lifting off the ground for the first time?! Imagine Columbus and others who dared not sail off the face of what they were told was the flat earth?! Imagine those who first took their faith to the outer reaches of space?! Imagine those who believed they could do and b…e when all the world screamed, “You’re nuts!”; when all they did was just imagine that something was possible?! Imagine all that exists now because someone believed in bigger, greater, unexpected and implausible dreams?!     images courage 8

So when I choose to believe in that which I cannot prove or see yet in this world . . in God, in my yet-realized dreams, in possibilities I’ve yet to conquer but imagine one day I might . . I don’t see myself as alone in all of that; but rather, I’m surrounded by those who didn’t restrict their belief or their imaginations to what is already known or already possible. I’m in great and full company when I dare to believe in much more! History is rife with examples of those overcoming to dare what seemed impossible or unlikely. PlusWork

Don’t let naysayers take from you the seeds of imagination! Don’t let naysayers plant within you seeds of doubt, fear or implausibility! Don’t let anyone tell you the limits of your life, the limits of your beliefs, or the limits of your dreams! Perhaps those people trying to weigh you, your beliefs and your dreams down with their parameters of possibility aren’t as imaginative, willing, courageous or faithful as you! All those who’ve ever dared did it in spite of their own doubts, fears and self-limitations. All those who’ve ever dared, changed and/or accomplished did it in spite of the concerns, fears and limits others tried to place upon their vision!

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DreamChaser

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Dreams, God, Happiness, Joy

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CanNot2Cans-50The confines of our world say, “You can do this, but not this.” Do what you feel you are called to do regardless the messages you may perceive & those you actually may receive! You are a one-of-a-kind creation, formed by God for your own life & pathway. If you allow others to define you, direct you or perhaps inadvertently destroy your dreams by inflicting their own limitations about life upon them, then your life will never be as full as it was meant to be!

 

Believing in oneself is paramount to reaching for the stars! If you let anyone tell you otherwise, you have already confined yourself to remaining on the ground in lesser pursuits. Dreams are the seeds of God’s possibilities & hopes born in you. Don’t you dare let them die there! You are called to go after them like you know they were meant for you! Light yourself on fire with the faith, hope & confidence that you will achieve the dream God established there within your soul! I can assure you, no dream first started in you by our Master Craftsman will ever fail unless & until you let it fail & then die.

 

He may ask you to work for it, often quite hard, but He will never give up on it, & so neither should you! Recognize what lives within your heart & go for it like you are retrieving an actual part of you which was misplaced! If you let others, or a few bumps in life, take from you your journey to the stars, then you will suffer! Now, suit up & set your course for the galaxy waiting! Believe in yourself, your dreams & your own power to achieve whatever God has called you to be & to do . . . no limits!_Sign01

Come Sail Away Captain . . Life Awaits You!

03 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Celebration, Commitment, Dreams, Life, Opportunity

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sailboat-50It’s just the start of a new year & you should try to make it count, making it worthwhile, making it the best one yet by putting your emotions in check, by choosing to live instead not by them, but by your own powerful & affirmative ability to sail & venture into life. You should be assured that you will weather storms yet to be projected even! You, after all, are the captain of your own ship, where will you sail this year? Will you remain docked in the same place, because you dare not venture out beyond your comfort zone? Will you sail out only to the break for that is the furthest you dare go for fear of what lies ahead? Or will you, master & commander of your own ship, sail beyond all the places you have dared  to go before to face uncharted waters even?!

 

I think those who understand the risks, accepting the fact that they will encounter inclement weather & thus take on any hardship faced when going through storms, are the ones who truly strengthen not only their own wills, but build their own confidence & thus live with a sense of more contentment & joy! Our emotions are like the provisions we can load into our hulls for when we need them, but sometimes we rely too much on them! Sometimes we carry too many emotions too far & we cease moving forward, or even moving at all! We must learn to feel, to release & to again set our course.

This is your year! This is the year you can untie from the dock, sail out to the breaking point & hoist your sails to let the winds of life carry you further than you dare imagined! Will you choose to travel lightly & load only the provisions which enable you to do that? Or will you load yourself down to the point of not moving much if at all?! Choose to see your future days as those of a sleek sailing vessel moving effortlessly ahead through all life’s conditions . . believe you will be able to venture into life to explore more, to do more & to be more this year than ever before! You are the master & commander, the captain after all! Come . . it’s 2013, time to sail away!_Sign01

YOUR LIFE IN AD LIB . . .

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Dreams, Life

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Dreams, Faith, Life, Lifestyles, Trust

YOUR LIFE IN AD LIB . . .

When I was young, there was only one reality for me.  I was only interested in being a wife and a mother.  Looking back, all the things I did, all the activities I practiced, my play, my favorite times, my significance, all was vested in that journey.  Lo and behold, the two things of significance I have not done in my lifetime are those very things which I spent my childhood playtime and chore time in preparation.  I knew how to cook, bake, clean house, sew and I observed with admiring eyes, the most giving examples of women who were devoted to lives at home with husbands and children.  So, why do you ask, have I not accomplished that yet?  Hmm, it never seemed right the times the roles were offered to me previously.  It’s simple.  Life isn’t always the way we write the script, but rather in how we read the script which was given to us for our lives!  Or perhaps, even more daring in theory, how do we go off script, and ad lib our lives?

Don’t be a victim all the time!  It’s easy to complain and admonish yourself, or worse, others, for what has or hasn’t transpired according to your preconceived script.  Simple to understand but difficult to believe, we may have to live ad lib.  Yikes!  It’s not that hard, haven’t you ever had a time in life when you have had to wing it?  It’s our faith, our magical molecules, our vast capacity for determining things with reasoning, thought, and cognition which permit us to make our way up as we go.  Pretense, acting, it’s all the same really . . . we might feel slightly better were we to know things ahead of time, but imagine if you actually knew the exact moment of your death ahead of time.  The only people I know who are truly eager for that are suicide bombers, who believe in their supposed heroism that the action of death will lead to glory somehow.  They are delusional.  The rest of us, with healthy psyches and emotional personnas, know without a doubt, that some things are much better left unknown!  

So, let go, let your faith guide you, believe in your own journey’s validity, have dreams, but sometimes let yourself make it up as you go!  You might discover the person you were really meant to be lives under the shadow and forced shell of the troublesome rigidity of that other person you think you should be.  Dare to dream, but also dare to let your heart, your instincts, but most importantly, your trust in your higher power be your guide.  The zig zags of life are what you’ll remember more than the sure steps you  planned ahead of time, I guarantee it! 

HOW TO DREAM BIG!

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Dreams, Life

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Dreams, Faith, Life, Optimism, Reality

HOW TO DREAM BIG!

I’ll be frank here, dreaming is always in competition with my more practical side, the realistic side which screams, “Don’t you open up your heart to those foolish dreams, you’re just asking for trouble!”  I’ve admittedly been broken down, busted apart and found myself wondering why I ever dared to dream when they pan out and fall to pieces.  I’ve always gotten back up, stepped back into my “fantasy”, and hoped all over again.  The true nature of a positive thinker is optimism, but also the very personification of that optimism, is in the ability to re-form visions, to dare to dream again!

Living in this most arduous world today requires great faith.  We are bombarded with realism.  It’s not that everything we contend with is in fact new, but we didn’t actually hear about it every second of every day before.  We literally hear about the world’s issues 24/7, through our tv’s, our internet services, our phones, our friends, our constant communication!  It’s true that our world can crush our dreams.  We must learn to rise above the heartbreak, the disappointments, the devastations, the anxieties, the traumas, and all the dramas which play out each day upon our senses!  Learn to filter for the preservation of your own sanity, but also to encourage the nurturing  of your dreams!  They need bright light to grow to maturation, not the dimness of futility and despair!

Bring your heart along for the ride, let your imagination guide you and direct you.  All ideas are yours from Divine providence, so you should be encouraged to believe that each and every idea fostered inside your imagination has merit, has possibility, and has great chance for success!  Don’t let anything deter your dreams from living full, healthy, complete lives.  Let your dreams develop from their infancy as little seeds, born inside your thoughts, to full-fledged accomplishments, which you mark upon your checklist of lifetime significance.  Believe in the dream and believe in you!

REALITY, WHAT A CONCEPT!

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by Cheryl Ries in Dreams

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Dreams, Maturity, Reality

REALITY, WHAT A CONCEPT!

Dreams are what drive us to compose our lives, they make our lives rich with color, beauty, and motivate us forward like our own inherent propellers.  Reality, though, now that’s a concept!  

I’m insistent in pointing out that the counter-balance to fantasy is reality.  Seems like that should be common sense, but many people live their entire lives wasting possibilities because they refuse to see the beauty and joy within reality.  It’s filled with imperfection, so reality isn’t going to be “picture perfect”.  Reality, once faced, can be imperfectly idyllic.  When we open ourselves up to the imperfections of people, those we love, our families, our friends, our mates, we experience love at a different level.  When we let love grow past the reflection of those flaws of reality, jumping through the looking glass and into the realm of deeper things, we can find love is based and rooted much more substantially.  We are all imperfect . . . looking externally and internally, we have that in common.  It doesn’t matter who you are, George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt . . . we humans are all commonly tied by our human imperfections, among other qualities.

Stating the obvious, we see imagery all the time which is close to perfection.  We see celebrities, movie stars, models, and athletes who seem to defy the real imperfect parameters the rest of us poor saps must live with.  They are glorious and radiate like luminous stars in some heavenly realm beyond our reach.  Truthfully, a great deal of what makes them so spectacular is not real.  It is the work of magicians . . . the squad of makeup artists, hairdressers, stylists, wardrobers, casting agents, trainers, plastic surgeons and clothing designers who have worked wonders transforming the physical “clay” of the human flesh.  Then add in the photographers, photo editiors, stylists, producers, and all those who are capable of taking photoshoots and commercials, films and promotional events to a new level through skillful manipulation of their talents upon the work in progress.  What we end up with is a lot of illusion, a world which emphasizes the perfect and idyllic!

Never fear, it is with maturity that you learn to grow through the stages of personal development which restrict a human being to that narrow space of appreciating only perfection!  With time, hopefully, if this is your issue, you can learn to find imperfections just as beautiful as what you interpret as perfect.  When you can look at the people whom you love and assess them as beautiful, even though they are imperfect, then you know your love is genuine!

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