The Ideal Me

 

I'm reading a great book right now called "Living Out Loud: Activities to fuel a Creative Life" by Keri Smith.  It's a fun, creative little pocket book with great prompts and ideas for living a creative life. And if you have followed me for any amount of time, you will already know that one of my life mantras is to "Live a Creative Life." It's been important to me for quite a while, and I still find myself having to be reminded of it.

One of the big things I try to follow is the whole idea of "putting it out there". The creative me. The dreams. The goals. All of it. No matter how ridiculous it may seem to some of you. My friend Peggy believes strongly, too, the idea of "putting it out there . . . Into the universe." She's always proud of me when I do that. :)

There is a great exercise in the book - to answers some questions about the "Ideal You" as if you were already living your ideal life. The author encourages you to "dream big", put it on paper, make it as full and as decadent as you wish. It was an exercise I wasn't sure I could do at first. Dreaming? Sure, I dream. I have things that I think about - trips I'd love to take - jobs I'd love to have. But truly dreaming about the day to day things that surround me . . . that was a little more difficult. 

Then . . . I got into it. And it took off. The questions invited me to really think about the ideal me. And the answers surprised me a bit. 

Here is a small sampling of just a few of the questions asked:

* where do you live? describe what your home looks like. (Again, it's in my ideal life, not my current for real one)

* what do you do on a daily basis that fulfills your emotional, spiritual, and physical needs?

* look at the clothes you are wearing. What do they say about you?

* how much money do you make?

* how do you view yourself?

* what do you enjoy most about your career?

It's interesting. I learned quite a lot about myself. 

Specifically, I realized that I don't need a huge amount of money in my ideal life . . . just enough so I don't have to worry about it. Enough to pay the bills, and with a little extra to have some fun. I also learned that I would spend that extra money on things that would fill my soul . . . and not "things" that would take up space. I would spend my money on traveling and art retreats and "moments", and not at all on material goods. 

I also learned, overall, that the "Ideal Me" is not so far off. It is some one that I CAN reach. Some one that IS inside of me. Some one that IS ME. 

Perhaps that was the biggest lesson of it all. That when I really sit down and look at my life, I'm getting there . . . to the person I dream of. I am on my way . . . and it IS attainable. That . . . is a pretty awesome lesson. 

How about you? Do you ever really think about the Ideal You?  I'm telling you, my friends . . . It's an great way to refocus your direction. I'm interested . . . Are you on your way? Leave me a comment and let me know. 

Peace, my friends.