At a personal development event, I opened the workbook to the first page. As I read the poem, The Invitation by Oriah, my eyes popped and jaw dropped – as if TRUTH was staring me smack in the face – urging me to look at myself, honestly.
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.
I bet you’ve accepted the invitation – the adventure to being alive – at some point in your life. You dared to dream, you followed your heart’s longing, you risked looking stupid, and you’ve likely disappointed someone along the way (sometimes yourself) – all to stay true to your soul’s journey. There’s been bumps and bruises, and you’re all the better for it. I know that’s true for my growth journey.
Are you up for the invitation – the adventure of being alive? After reading this post, you’ll not only have a clear way to articulate your dreams – your soul’s desires. You’ll also discover a quicker way to rise after disappointment. And trust me, you’re far from alone on this journey, especially if you surround yourself with people who believe you are worthy of your heart’s longing.
I bet if you’ve accepted the invitation – the adventure to being alive – at some point in your life. You dared to dream, you followed your heart’s longing, you risked looking stupid, and you’ve likely disappointed someone along the way (sometimes yourself) – all to stay true to your soul’s journey.
REALIZE YOUR DREAMS
What’s your dream? What would you risk looking like a fool for? What have you buried inside that wants to be realized – without caution to be careful or more realistic? What did you once pursue but now push off to the side, maybe after repeated disappointment?
When I struggle to pursue my soul’s desires or lack clarity about my dream, I go back to August 28, 1963. As I watch Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak “I Have a Dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, I connect with his voice, his movements, and especially his unshakeable conviction.
“Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character…
This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims’ pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring…
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men, and white men, Jews, and Gentiles, Protestants, and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.”
After connecting with his unshakeable faith for 17 minutes and 28 seconds, I grabbed a pen and some paper and wrote: He had a dream, what’s mine? He had a dream. What’s mine? After a handful of times writing that same question, my dream poured out of me onto the page. I recently re-read it years later – it still rings true and brings tears to my eyes. It’s like giving your soul a voice and listening. Gorgeous. Try it for yourself. Watch him, listen to him, read his words. He had a dream, what’s yours? Keep repeating the question. Patience is a path to wisdom. Truth will eventually answer. It just might take a while (LOL!) But, when your soul responds, you’ll feel alive. Promise.
When I struggle to pursue my soul’s desires or lack clarity about my dream, I go back to August 28, 1963. As I watch Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak “I Have a Dream” on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, I connect with his voice, his movements, and especially his unshakeable conviction.
RISE FROM DISAPPOINTMENT
Dreams are tricky. They call us forward to what we want, which feels exciting! Exhilarating even. Then our brain kicks in with the ultimate brake. Pursuing THAT might bring pain – disappointment, sorrow, maybe even (gasp!) failure. As The Invitation by Oriah voices:
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, ‘Yes.’
It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
Dang! It’s a lot. The invitation to rise from disappointment and still realize your dreams is an intimate dance with Spirit. Hiding out (shoving the goal or desire away – burying it) only prolongs the pain (believe me, I’ve tried!) Resistance prolongs the process and is more painful than accepting what is now – sort of like ripping off a bandage. You can go fast or sloooooow.
When realizing your dream brings bumps and bruises, you have two choices: accept and relax into the process, or resist and suffer. Acceptance equals freedom. Resistance equals pain. Please repeat after me:
Today, I choose to accept and release.
Some might call this the process of surrender – which can feel scary and lonely. I prefer to call this the process of leaning into faith. Or, if you’re a person who chooses both, perhaps it’s a process of surrendering with unshakeable faith.
When realizing your dream brings bumps and bruises, you have two choices: accept and relax into the process, or resist and suffer. Acceptance equals freedom. Resistance equals pain. Please repeat after me:
Today, I choose to accept and release.
JOIN A THRIVING TRIBE
If you’re like me, you’re thinking: okay, I’m game. I’m game to rise from disappointment and realize my dream, but I don’t wanna do this all by myself! Where are my peeps? Thankfully, it only takes two to form a tribe.
Who could hold you accountable to do the work required to realize your dreams and help you rise faster from disappointments? As Brené Brown brilliantly summarizes: “We are physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually hard-wired for connection. And in the absence of connection, there is always suffering.”
I would have been “dead” long ago without my tribes. Tribes keep us alive – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – and are forever re-evolving in our lives. From birth family to high school, med school to residency, I continue to find tribes throughout my life’s journey. When child-rearing brought me to my knees, my mama tribe brought humor to the altar. Tribes are magnetic and quite magical.
Don’t do this vibrant health thing alone! Expand your experience through connection, but choose your tribes wisely! Find people that allow you to be vulnerable, raise your standards, and hold you accountable to reach your full potential.
Or, as The Invitation by Oriah puts it so fiercely, someone who “will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.” Yes! I want to surround myself with those people.
May you rise from disappointment as you realize your dreams and surround yourself with people who believe you are worthy of what you want. Who believe you’re ready to be more and serve more. We are in this with you, together, for the adventure of being alive!
#WeAreInThisTogether for #HealthyChange
P.S. I’ve been a personal growth junkie since my late teens and obsessed with living my soulFULL purpose. For years, Tony Robbin’s courses and programs have positively impacted every facet of my life – my health, career, finances, and, most importantly, relationships. In return, I feel called to share them with growth-minded souls who want to contribute to others at the highest level. Six Transformational Weeks. Seven Life-Changing Zooms. One Unstoppable You. I look forward to taking this journey with you. Together, we will rise from disappointments, realize our dreams, and feel fulfilled in every facet of our lives. Join the Born to Rise Zoom Series + Community
About the Author: Dr. Sue
Sue McCreadie, MD (aka Dr. Sue), is a Pediatric Physician and Breakthrough Coach for Midlife Mamas. For over two decades, she’s helped thousands achieve vibrant health as a wellness expert. Bringing three daughters into this world, she lost four along the way, and crossed the pregnancy finish line a digestive–hormonal–emotional mess. But, over the following decade, she found a deeper meaning for miscarriages, reclaimed vibrant health, and grew emotional resiliency. Dr. Sue is obsessed with living her soulFULL purpose and helping other growth-minded Mamas do the same. She believes we are in this together to rise up, realize our dreams, and feel fulfilled in every facet of our lives.