Acouple of weeks ago I was reading
some quotations on the subject of DREAMS, and found two that truly
resonate with me.
Anais Nin said that “dreams pass into the reality of action. From
the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the
highest form of living.”
This quote reminded me of a little cup
that I used to have on my desk back in my law firm days. That cup is now on my son Ian’s desk at
Georgia Tech (he just e-mailed the pics to me). The cup was a gift from my
husband Dale and our oldest son Adam. I
do not remember the occasion, but I do remember my response to it, I cried. There on the face of the cup is this little
figure sitting in a tiny row boat with a fishing pole hung over the side, and
there in the water beneath the boat (out of sight) is a vast school
of fish ready to bite, accompanied by the quote “Dreams Can Come True.”
At the time, I hated my job and was dreaming
of having another child but our young family was dependent on my income so I knew I would have to return to work quickly. We took a leap of faith
and got pregnant with Ian. A couple
months into the pregnancy I was at the Harvest craft festival in Miami and someone said something to me about working from home, which was still a fairly new concept at the time, but I decided to take another
leap of faith and return to school. By
the time Ian arrived, I had completed all the necessary course work to start a medical transcription business, and had more
work than I knew what to do with. I
would spend all day with Ian and Adam, and start transcription around 7 pm. It wasn’t easy, especially when I worked
through the night regularly, but I never minded because I was living my dream. I was a full-time homemaker and mom, and I was my own boss. I paid
it forward, helping several of my friends set up businesses too. I knew that this was only a short term
occupation for me, not a career. But I
did it for seven years and when we moved here to Atlanta thirteen years ago I
turned over all my accounts to friends.
I never knew how much my job formed my self image. It was oddly uncomfortable not working, and not having discretionary funds was not working for me. The next business I started was Atlanta Workshop Oddysseys. I invited my favorite artists from around the country and held weekend workshops here in Atlanta. I did that for two years and loved every minute of it until 9/11. The weekend following 9/11, I had 25 people scheduled to travel in for a workshop but everyone was justifiably afraid to board a plane. So, I ended up with six, just the ones who could drive in from various parts around the south.
It was fun and rewarding while it lasted,
but I was ready for another challenge and right about that time, a collaborative I had organized was being memorialized in a book, The Art Doll Chronicles. I was also teaching book & paper arts at the local
paper shop here in Peachtree City and thought it might be fun to teach some paper
doll classes to celebrate the release of the book, and viola Character Constructions
was born! I work more hours each day
than I care to even count, seven days a week.
But, I’m not complaining. I truly
am living my dream. It didn’t happen
overnight, but one leap of faith led to another and another, and this is where
I want to be.
I have taught at venues all over the U.S., but leading a workshop in Italy made me realize this was something I could and would do again, the birth of a new challenge, a new dream. I thought it was important to let you all
know that I am not a spoiled little diva who just rented a Paris
apartment. Not me, I’m a worker bee and
always have been.
Which brings me to that second DREAM quote I found: Dom Helder Camara says: When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.
I hope you will drop by periodically and dream with me as I take another leap of faith, this time pointed in the direction of Paris, France.
