The same questions dance about in your head just about any free moment your mind has time to wander: Could I do that? I really want to give it a shot, but should I? I’ve never done this before, but nearly everything about it speaks ‘my language’, is it too farfetched to give it a try?

The dreams that we have while we are conscious often remain dreams because fear wells up in equal measure due to our having never actually done what it is we are dreaming about. And because we hope that our dream will work out, the fear of it now increases a bit more.

Fear’s oxygen is our fictitious reality that has yet to be realized.

First, how do we quell these fears and trust our dream, this reoccurring daydream, wants us to pursue it?

First, answer this question as honestly as you can: Where did the dream begin? Not when, but where? What sparked it?

This is sort of a trick question because what we need to confirm is that no one else, not society, no our friends or family, has been influencing our desiring this dream. The dream must come innately from within us because that is when we will know we can trust that it is a dream we need to follow.

In my own life, whenever I reflect on why France jumped to my mind back when I was in college to visit, to learn the language of said country and attend classes abroad, I still cannot tell you. But without a doubt nor any dithering about any other country or culture, I dreamed of visiting France. Once I had the opportunity to see the country with my own eyes, it began to make sense as to why, but there weren’t any obvious external influences, just something within me that held an undying curiosity to experience the country with my own eyes and being.

My inner compass wasn’t wrong, even though as I shared in The Road to Le Papillon’s sixth chapter, it wasn’t without tears (and not the happy kind). And here is again another piece of evidence that will prove our dream needs to be seized — even if the experience isn’t ‘perfect’, even if unexpected hiccups occur, you still feel a connection, and have an adoration and affection that is unwavering.

This is where curiosity is superseded by an almost magnetic pull to see a dream realized. Curiosity can start the engine that is our decision to say yes to the opportunity that may also be the dream, but when there is something that holds us still and makes us feel as if we are grounded and simultaneously soaring when we have realized the dream, then we know we have honored the dream as it wished to become.

“It is not what France gave you but what it did not take from you that is important.” – Gertrude Stein 

The next and last question to ask yourself, once you have accomplished the dream, turned it into a reality experienced with your own eyes, is How does it feel when you are in the middle of it, experiencing it as well as when you have to leave it or are no longer immersed in it?

When you feel most truly at ease being your full true self, then the dream has completed its mission. It doesn’t mean everything is perfect and nothing will go wrong, but it does feel as though something awakens within you that wasn’t fully able to express itself prior to pursuing and bringing to reality your dream.

From finally dabbling in that hobby you’ve been wanting to try and discovering that time flies by because you are fully engaged and enjoying the simple act of partaking to enrolling in a course of study that enthralls your mind rather than puts you to sleep, this is the proof that the dream’s fulfillment was nudging you to follow its wisdom. Another example is the lifestyle you wish you could live. In my own case, I have wanted to live on my own with my dogs since I was in high school. The quiet, the freedom, the four-legged companionship, just the pace of life and the time to be with my thoughts, ideas and work on creative projects always spoke to me. It wasn’t until I was in grad school that I had my first taste of such a lifestyle, but that was more than enough, and I have never looked back. I observed myself come to life and reveled in the responsibility to be able to live on my own. That dream was not encouraged by anyone, and came innately from within me. I gradually realized I was blossoming.

I carry that knowledge to remind myself to trust when any dream keeps reappearing and will not subside. It may take time for me to figure out how to make it happen and it may not occur exactly as I envisioned, but the concept, the tenets of that dream, are what I do my best to bring to fruition. In so doing, with each realized dream, I align more with my true self and that ushers in more energy rather than depletes or exhausts me.

So what dream keeps reoccurring in your waking hours? And what steps can you begin today to eventually bring it to being in your everyday life? Harness your courage so the beauty within you can be experienced in your everyday. Your life wants to bloom and your dreams are encouraging you (note the roots in this word – ‘being with(in) courage’) to do so. You can do this.

Wishing you a wonderful start to the new week.