Nothing to Everything
The time is always right to do what is right.
– Martin Luther King Jr.
Happy Monday,
I love being outside… except when the temperatures drop into the minus of degrees! Which is what mother nature had in store for many of us over this past weekend and into the week ahead. This week’s letter is a bit longer than usual, but I ask that you stick with it and read through as the words are deep from my heart.
Waking up Saturday morning, knowing I had nowhere to go, nothing I HAD to do, except for staying as warm as possible over the weekend, the feeling felt luxurious for the moment. Then I thought about everything I had the time and effort to get done right here at home. Those thoughts energized me and exhausted me all at the same time.
From nothing to everything in an instant. Ever have that feeling?
And so, I spent the weekend going from here to there inside my home. I found myself accomplishing cleaning out projects, writing, learning, cooking, dancing with my hubby, imagining and dreaming. And that is what I want to talk about today. Dreaming.
Dreams can come in two categories reality and fantasy. Who exactly has the power to determine which is which? Each of us.
For example, for over 40 years I have dreamed of going to France. And those who know me well, know it has been a topic of discussion on many occasions. When will Cheri go to Paris?
And you know what, I have come to realize that I made this dream a fantasy dream. One that was born back in the 80’s when my sweet Grammy sent me a postcard from Paris with the words on it “You must come to Paris.”
Postcard from Paris
I’ve been dreaming of the Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe ever since!
To be sure, so many family members have been, dear friends have been, colleagues have been, some multiple times, and for me it was a dream I put up on a shelf. For whatever reason Paris was not in reaching distance for me. Until Now.
As I have shared in previous letters, back in the fall my husband and I booked a bicycling adventure through Normandy that we left open to include 8 days in Paris. We booked the bicycle tour part and then I set the whole idea back up on the proverbial shelf.
Afraid, I am realizing now, to give the dream of Paris too much energy. Until the nothing to everything bug hit me last week and we started booking our stays (4 days on either side of the bike tour) in Paris.
Deciding on our Airbnb locations (much more cost effective we found than hotels) almost seemed surreal, especially the one that will have a view (if I lean over our balcony) of the Eiffel Tower.
My mother had given me a pair of Eiffel Tower earrings many years ago on one of her visits to Paris telling me that her and I would be there together one day.
And then as I was clearing out some memories this weekend it hit me why I have been putting this trip off for so many years. Because, I realized, I would never be able to fulfill or share this dream with my beloved mother and grandmother. The experiences they had to share with me that I thought we would be share together.
However, as I reflected on this, through many tears, I have come to the conclusion that I have the power, as each of us do, to create new dreams, different dreams. Ones that don’t include those we had hoped to have those dreams with.
And as I cleared through those closets in my house this weekend, and spent time just being, I felt even more empowered to leave the past behind, and reach for my future dreams.
What is your nothing to everything dream? The one you have been putting up on shelf and out of reach for a long time. The dream that could set your heart on fire but perhaps fear of it not meeting your expectations is getting in the way?
Moving into the third week of this year already, what are goals or intentions have you placed in front of you that can make your dreams come true? The ones that will act as fuel to insure your dreams go from fantasy to reality as they come to life.
Let’s cheer each other on! And to be sure come May, I will be sending all the love to my mom and grandmother from the top of the Eifel Tower. Because I know in my heart of hearts they will indeed be there with me because they will always be a part of me.
The time is right, right now.
À votre succès et à vos victoires,
(To Your Success and Victories)
Cheri Ruskus
Creator and Growth Mentor
@victorygirl
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