Revisiting Childhood Dreams

When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up? Chances are you weren’t thinking in terms of being thin. Those wishes came with puberty. From then on so much time has been spent focusing on the outside that we’ve forgotten to take care of the inside.
While physical health is important, mental health is too. Regret is a common feeling as we age, “I wish I had done this…” or “I wish I had tried that…” Late summer, early fall is a perfect time to rediscover those childhood dreams but perhaps not the way you think. Obviously you can’t run out and join a ballet troupe but you can spend the night at a ballet. Perhaps there’s a special young one you can share the moment with. Or you can take it one step further and join an adult dance class. You may not be in the next Swan Lake at the Royal Ballet but you’ll capture a bit of your childhood dream. Do some research in your town and see what you come up with.
Did you want to be an actor? There are many small town theatres always looking for some new blood. Pop into the box office and find out when they’ll be holding auditions for their next project. Then take the plunge and audition. What’s the worse that can happen? They say no and you are still in the spot you were before you started with the added bonus that you put yourself on the line and tried something new. An accomplishment in itself. Besides not many actors will tell you they were hired at their first audition.
Maybe you dreamed of being a writer and having your stories in print. Well, it can’t happen if you don’t write. Take a Saturday afternoon and just sit down with a bunch of paper and pens and write. Write whatever comes out. Maybe you’ve been thinking of a story for some time. Don’t get bogged down in the outlining, plotting etc. you can learn about that later. At this point you just want to get your ideas down on paper.
Whatever your childhood dreams were it’s not necessarily too late. Spend some time thinking about them maybe even journaling. Look at how you can evolve your dream to fit your life now. Consider what steps you need to put it into action. We often get bogged down with the superficial and forget about the peace trying something new and forgotten can bring. Take a look inside and see what you come up with.
Originally published 8/6/2004 at Large & Lovely, BellaOnline.