Last night I slept as well as a really exhausted person could sleep, given a wake-up for the kiddoes in the middle of the night. I woke up feeling better, and remembering something else my therapist said to try.
I told her about feeling good imagining good things to come; and at the same time feeling uncertain and confused about not knowing how to get there. She said if I think of that experience as treading water in the middle of a long swim, then I can use it as a time for rejuvenation rather than self-flagelation.
Then she said one of the great things to do in that time is to really focus on envisioning where I want to be, as if I’m there already. Then I can let myself feel the feelings of relief that come with just envisioning the good stuff.
I was kind of doing that but it seems like every time I do it something I had regarded as certain gets removed. The other thing is that I had the feeling somehow that this was the time to stop dreaming and start doing.
Nevermind that as I talked along yesterday (it was a long session, I say, rolling my eyes), I realized I have a very clear plan. It’s broad and flexible and workable all at once. It’s kind of surprising.
But OK, so there I am, moving along as I am moving along. What if I go back to what I used to do a lot when I first started writing here – daydreaming? What if I do that again? What if I daydream BIG and with abandon? It’s not like my life went to hell after I did that for a few months. As a matter of fact, my life has improved rather shockingly, and quite specifically in the direction of things I wanted but never believed I could have or deserve.
So I wonder then who or what I am fighting. Because make no mistake, the anxiety and self-judgment I’ve been mired in for the last several weeks at least is really another form of daydreaming. It’s daydreaming that things are bad, that I’m bad, that I have to fight to change the bad things and the bad me… it’s just as much of a daydream as if I treat myself as good and things in my life as good and release what doesn’t work while embracing what does – and remember that everybody in my life is doing the best they can, even me.
I started practicing a song (link poofed) that seemed to evoke some of this sentiment, although it had a storyline that was not exactly what I’m daydreaming. But it got me to thinking and feeling back in that dreamy place where things do work out, believe it or not; where life floats into coherence rather than banging into superficial organization; where that internal fight that I think of as part of my being just dissolves into peace.
This looks like a nice place to keep resting up and re-start the daydreaming. My inner critic just called me crazy. Eh – I think I’ll take this kind of crazy for a while.
[via Completely Coastal]

18 comments
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September 11, 2010 at 3:02 am
anna
woot – I caught the song. Amazing! You rock, you know that right?
Yes to daydreaming. That’s what got me here…and when I started writing again, I learned to firmly put my inner critic in its place. Lately I’ve been daydreaming myself onstage with my words and my voice. Think I can do it?
September 11, 2010 at 5:16 am
makingspace1
Annaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! HIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can totally do it!!!!! And other similar sentiments with many exclamation points. Sing!!
September 11, 2010 at 3:27 am
grumpygranny
I truly think my rich fantasy life is one of the things that has helped me get through a lot of the crap in my life. Sometimes you don’t want to be where you are but have no choice, but you can always THINK yourself somewhere else. Conversely, I am also well able to imagine how much WORSE things could be, and so manage to be at least somewhat grateful no matter what the circumstances are. “Could be worse, could be raining!”
What hump?
GG
September 11, 2010 at 5:17 am
makingspace1
Yeah, you know, I think it’s kind of instinctual, but it really helped me hear my therapist say that it was a solid coping skill. That’s what kind of led me to realize that being all self-judging is really just another way of daydreaming – daynightmaring I suppose… I like your take on daydreaming the bad stuff, using it for perspective rather than prophecy. Excellent.
September 11, 2010 at 5:11 am
COat50
Wow. That’s a great vid. You are terrific, Missy! Thanks for having the moxie to share it.
I so love the creative process. It’s fascinating to see how different artists work through and mold their art until it’s ready for exhibit. The first iteration of the film On Golden Pond (Fonda/Hepburn) was actually a stage play. Its first casting was in Los Angeles with Charles Durning in the lead role — can’t remember who played the women. I saw the play about 4 times during its preview stages and I was GOBSMACKED to see how it changed from performance to performance as the playwright tweaked and nudged dialogue.
So it was with fascination that I watched your vid and noted the body movements, the hand gestures, the seriousness, the grins — all creating this fabulous piece of art and right before our eyes! What a gift it is to see and experience that, to have someone say, “Here, open this up and watch magic be created!”
So glad I read/watched this post first thing this morning — a complete day brightener.
September 11, 2010 at 5:20 am
makingspace1
Oh thank you! I really enjoy the process of making a performance too. This was about the third time through that song – so it’s still in the beginning of its evolution. It’s very sweet, has a sort of innocence to it, and it allows for a lot of interpretation because it is so “dreamy” – not too much of a set story line except for the date and dance – and the memories, aaahhh.
That’s so cool that you saw On Golden Pond in its creation. I love watching things take shape like that too. It’s so satisfying. Thanks for chiming in!
September 11, 2010 at 6:42 am
Em
Wow, wow, wow, wow! You’re so talented! Thank you for sharing. Wow.
Sorry to be so absent. Real life is kicking my butt at the moment. But I couldn’t let this pass without saying wow.
Wow.
September 11, 2010 at 7:19 am
makingspace1
Hiya Em, glad to see you back. Dude, I think real life is totally kicking a lot of our asses lately. Hence the need to switch to daydreaming mode, no? When does Mercury start behaving itself again anyway? All the best…
September 11, 2010 at 11:59 am
Em
Mercury is already at the degree of station (5 Virgo). So it’s very slow and very intense at the moment. It stations direct tomorrow at 4:09 pm Pacific Time. It takes it a couple of days to leave 5 degrees, a couple of more to leave 6 degrees. That’s when I consider it over, although some astrologers also pay attention to the ‘shadow’ which is the time it takes for it to get back to the degree it was when it went retrograde. (19 Virgo, fwiw.)
And I’m sure that’s more than you want to know. lol.
Agreed on the daydreaming.
Thanks for the moment of respite in your song.
September 11, 2010 at 12:14 pm
makingspace1
No, no, it works. The idea, if I’m understanding correctly, is that a slow and steady shift will be the norm rather than some dramatic WHOOHOO!!!! experience.
And you are welcome!
September 11, 2010 at 9:59 am
CO@50
Forgot to share this link with you in my 1st comment. Your cottage-y photo in this post made me think of it. The site isn’t what you think at first. Read the cutlines for each pic . . .
http://catalogliving.net/
September 11, 2010 at 10:38 am
makingspace1
That.is.hysterical!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!
September 11, 2010 at 2:09 pm
makingspace1
Oh god. Really. My stomach hurts from reading that site and laughing so hard.
September 11, 2010 at 5:17 pm
grumpygranny
OMG, me too! I had to pass it on. My mother, the catalog queen, would have loved it! FABULOUS!
GG
September 11, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Zanna
You. are. amazing.
And Em already explained about Mercury, so that’s all set.
You have come a long way. Now you see that what used to seem real is just another illusion/daydream and that you can change it. That’s big.
September 11, 2010 at 1:43 pm
makingspace1
Thanks. And thanks!
September 13, 2010 at 3:12 am
aneke
I’m all for day dreaming, but where is this vid (video?) everyone is talking of?
Also, in ‘real’ life (what could be more real than the person you are here though?) we would be friends. I’m sure of it.
September 13, 2010 at 5:48 am
makingspace1
I do think this place shows my real self, yes – and yes, we’d be friends!!