I have spread my dreams under your feet.
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats

“Yeats held a lifelong torch for  revolutionary Maud Gonne (born December 21, 1866). Though they were close friends and he proposed often, she always turned him down, in part because she thought that his yearning for her made him a better poet.” – Goodreads

I believe that we give away our power.  Understanding that however does not mean I don’t do it everyday. I do it several times a day- in ways so subtle that they cannot be observed.  They are subtle but substantial…and I cannot seem to stop.

I have dreams.  They are professional and personal.  Some are about family and friends.  Others are about geography, recreation and money.  Still others are all about the future.

I give away my power by listening to others.  It isn’t really about listening.  We definitly should listen.  It is about caring about what they think.  No, not really..that isn’t it. I think it is when I let them influence me.  Hmmm, that really isn’t it either. It is so confusing.  I think that is why I can relate to Yeats.

This past summer I took a great trip.  I traveled from Denver to the Grand Canyon, then to Sonoma California, up through Northern California to the Redwoods and back across the Northern Nevada deserts back to Denver.  3400 miles in all – 12 days on the road.  Sounds like a ‘dream’ road trip…or at least I thought so…until I started to share my plan with family and friends. The details were a problem.  I am a woman, over 50, travelling alone, with my dog, camping – in a tent, in areas where there is no cell service… These details were a problem – certainly not for me – but for just about everyone I shared my plans with.

I listened – but never gave away my power.  Their concern with safety was compelling but I never waivered about my intention to go.  Some were sympathetic that I was travelling alone.  I affirmed that it was a choice and – not to worry – that I was going to meet a friend mid-trip. The ‘tent-thing’ was a real issue for some.  “Really?…a tent?”

I share this story as a tribute to a time when I never gave up my power.  I had a dream, I listened with a filter that allowed me to plan for things I may have not thought of myself, but with the conviction that trip was a definite. I thanked people for their concern and advice but never inferred that I would not be leaving in early July.  It was a dream I was committed to.  I never ever second guessed my decision.

I wonder how that would work in other areas of my life?  I wonder why I was so determined to take this trip that when people I loved ‘rained on my parade’, and it didn’t dissuade me?  How did I actually achieve that dream?  The answer I think is simple.  I was clear on what I wanted.  I don’t remember the last time I had that level of clarity about anything.  We (or at least I) live in a world of options – opportunities – so many things to choose from…that the ability for true clarity is difficult.  I can do this?…but what about that over there?…Can I really do this?…Hmmm… I am not sure.

So I am going to go into 2015 and dream.  But I will also look for direction and clarity…and when I find it…I will commit to it just like it is my summer camping trip.  Funny how life teaches us lessons…