Our dreams don't belong to us. They belong to the world.

There's been this thing that's been lurking around for a few years. A dream. I've written about it here in this blog space just a tiny amount over the years. Meanwhile it's been hiding out in the pockets of my heart, waiting in the wings so to speak, standing in line, patiently waiting for its turn to be born. I like to think that my heart has been its incubator, slowly growing this little dream's purpose from tiny whisper to what now feels like a calling, sometimes even a scream.


This particular dream has been slowly, now more aggressively, tugging at my sleeve, like a child trying to get my attention. I've not turned its direction yet, and so the tugging continues. And so the tension continues. We're in a bit of a power struggle, me and this dream. As much as I'd love to tell it to back off, that I'm busy, that I have a small child, a full time job, and on and on, I know better. It knows better. 

The more I lean in and listen, I'm sure all the tugging and the tension has something to do with with my having some vague angst about my creative journey lately. And when I say lately, I mean about an entire year. And when I say vague I mean a deep sense that something is turning the tide, like my path is nearing a curve, yet I can't clearly see where or when, but I can just tell. I just know.


Clearings are made to hold the uncertainty. Journals are kept to work it out. Tears are shed. But mostly, there's a whole lot of trusting the process. The process of unearthing and birthing. Discovering and learning. Growing pains. Big stuff. Uncertain stuff. Important stuff. It's not just about my creative journey, it's about my life's journey.

And the same is true for you. Tugging + tension = something is shifting. We have to listen. Our dreams know well before we do what is possible. We're just slower to respond and get on the same page because we're sure that there's not enough time, not enough money, not enough energy.

As someone who has had the privilege of living with a remarkable dream these last many years, I'm learning that our dreams have big messages for the world - this is their gift and their purpose. Messages for us. For our families. For the world. They're spiritual entities. We are simply their human deliverer, our hearts their incubators, our birthing them through hard work their legacy.

They can be modest, internal dreams (learning to apologize, to forgive, to love, etc), or external pipe dreams (create a small/big business, write a book, etc). Either way, their impact is the same. They change families, friendships, neighborhoods.....the world. And they start with a tug on our sleeves.

We have to listen.

I used to think that a dream was something we wanted, that was born of us, from us, delivered by us, made real and true by us and all of our hard work. But now I see how limited that view is. It's a human view that comes with it all the limitations that we humans have. Dreams aren't meant to have limitations. They're meant to defy limitations. Now I think of dreams as divine entities that have chosen us to be their human delivery service if you will. They choose us - for our specific experiences, our good, our bad, our brokenness, our wholeness, our potential - to be the deliverer of their message, whatever it may be. They know we're the best person for the job. Despite our imperfectness.  Despite our limits. Despite our fears. What an honor.
They choose us. We don't choose them. 
So, in this way, our dreams don't belong to us. They belong to the world. It's our responsibility to listen to their tugging on our sleeves. To face their direction. To deliver them and their powerful messages to the world with all the hard work and courage we can muster.  We give our dreams a vessel for being born. And they give us a sense of purpose, aliveness, joy. That's what I call a perfect partnership. And perhaps our most important, soul filling, impactful work while here.


What's tugging on your sleeve? What dream is waiting for you to usher it into this life? Whatever it is, however simple or big or out of reach it may feel, it's got a purpose, and it has chosen you to deliver its message. You are the one it has been waiting for. And it promises to be one of the many dreams in your life that will give you the gift of showing you who you are, what you're capable of, and what your purpose can be. 
By the way, my dream, the one that has been tugging on my sleeve? It wants me to write and then it wants me to speak. Like in front of people. On a stage, with a microphone. I'm scared to death. But I'm listening and leaning in. And hopeful that it choose the right person for the job.