Foundation to Flight
For a post that is meant to be something "special and uniquely you" , what else could I bring except the topic of the dreem?
It's an interesting observation - to see tags and sites and books and labels all sharing the same root word: dreem, and to know that it spawned from my own mind. But then, it's not so surprising, because I've always been able to generate a synergistic attraction to love and fun and joy and connection, and create clusters of kindred spirits. It's one of my gifts and so I feel compelled to use it, and use it well.
Since it is a gift, it feels odd to be appreciated for it. To me, it feels like someone is thanking me for having brown eyes, or for being 5'2". I had no more say in those physical traits than I did in my spiritual gifts. And yes, I do believe the dreem is a spiritual gift since its main purpose is to honor God with all that I do. Of course, there is a natural blessing for anyone who chooses to splash around in the overflow that spills out and drips down the sides.
But where does the dreem actually reside?
I used to think its home was the brain. But recently, a friend reminded me of a quote by one of my favorite people, C.S. Lewis. He happens to be my mentor, and the third person I will meet in heaven. He had a profound way of expressing the inexpressible, and like a master archer, his words so often hit the bullseye of my heart.
For years, I hated my brain; I saw it as an object to be beaten and mastered. It was ruthless in its dealings with me and never catered to my desires. As the years passed, and it slowly began to reveal the reasons for its necessary protection, I started to admire it more. Admiration turned to pity as I discovered how broken and faulty it actually was.
The dreem, that has been inside me for as long as I could remember, was a product of that brain. If the brain needed to be mastered, the dreem needed to be controlled. If the brain was appreciated, the dreem could be unmuzzled. If the brain was pitied, the dreem was mocked.
As I started to contemplate the topic of this post, that quote kept hopping from neuron to neuron, playing hide and seek with my consciousness. When I sat down to formulate my thoughts, the truth revealed itself.
The brain is part of the body, and subject to the physical limitations. The dreem is part of the soul, and beyond normal human restrictions. Once I realized this, I realized something very important: as far as is humanly possible, nothing can stop my dreem. If this is a gift from God and God is for me, then who can be against me? That inspired a sort of reckless confidence that might be labeled presumptuous to some. I might have cared about that label in the past; I no longer do.
If you've experienced that kind of enlightened clarity, then you understand precisely what kind of freedom it brings. A light, fresh lifting that seats you above all the foolishness - and even helps point out the foolishness you've been contributing yourself. A confidence that you're fully equipped where it matters most. A calm peace that reassures you that the gift can't be taken away. A boost of boldness to dare you to use it to its greatest potential. A gentle reminder that though it can't be stolen, we can foolishly give it away or misuse it.
Storms gather, enemies plot, thieves lie in wait - and it's only a matter of time before pressure builds and human anxieties start to steal my focus. This inability to remain calm throughout the storm used to shame and defeat me. It annoyed me that my head knew what to do, but my heart couldn't keep with the program.
As pressure mounts now, I still can unravel, but I've noticed something important that testifies to my growth: recovery time. Any athlete will tell you that a sign of great physical conditioning is not only in the length of time it takes to exhaust the body, but also in how quickly the body can recover from that state. With practice, the time from exhaustion to recovery shortens significantly.
The same is true for emotional and spiritual exhaustion. Instead of obsessing over my inability to fully conquer the storms, and remain unaffected, I now measure the time it takes to bounce back from exhaustion. This helps me to focus less on the feeling of repeated failure, and more on the emotional and spiritual conditioning of my soul. It also helps significantly to protect my perspective of the dreem. Instead of allowing it to be tainted from the physical, I try to see it hovering, shielded from the chaos below. Or even floating above in peace, drifting and dreeming atop the depths.
Instead of giving everything in my life an overhaul, I sift the damaged parts out of the mix, and tend to them. This attempts to prevent the extreme overreactions that come in the form of temptations to surrender, self-pity, doubt, and defeat. Those do still come, but remember - shortened recovery time is a quantifiable measure of progress; every victory counts, no matter how small.
The purpose of this post was to share some of my vulnerabilities openly, in an attempt to connect my struggles with yours, so that perhaps my victories could also be yours. I don't know if this was relatable to everyone, but if it's relatable to some - it's worthwhile.
I'd like to use this final paragraph to speak to the hearts who see themselves in this post. The world is against you. There is no light-hearted way to share that - it is simply true. We live in a time where hope is mocked, where innocence is deemed inferior, where money is god, and the pursuit of power is the priority. Before you compare yourself to those, and feel swayed to follow in their footsteps, ask yourself this:
- Do they ever truly seem happy?
- Do they ever have enough?
- Does their pursuit truly bring them joy?
- If they are so fulfilled, why are they so concerned with lil' old you?
I imagine that they are very affected, because they need you more than you need them. And if this is true, live as if it's so. Live -as if it's so.
After you've separated yourself from the trivial, ground yourself in your identity. Every morning step fully into the gifts that you have, and bring them to the world in only the way that you can.
If you need a little help, I created this battle plan for you! Hope it helps to start you with the right mindset each day!
Remember, you are above the petty, and the childish and the menial. Don't get sucked into daily dramas and incessant crises. You have a far greater purpose, and they know it. Don't allow their envy to distract you from what you were meant to do.
Time is ticking, my friends.
Thank you @alessandrawhite and @shadowspub for a beautiful, strengthening, meaningful challenge this month! It was our absolute delight to link arms with your crew at Creative Work Hour! Hope you don't mind if we stay linked ❤️
Thanks to @shadowspub, @penderis, @bluefinstudios, @kemmyb, @wesphilbin, @melinda010100, @samsmith1971, @silversaver888, @lizelle, @kenechukwu97, @jacoalberts, @acgalarza, @blackdaisyft, @balikis95, @alessandrawhite, and @dreemsteem for making the @dreemport voting power go farther! ❤️
All images were painstakingly... and I do mean paiiiinstakingly created over 3 weeks using Midjourney, Photopea, Canva, Midjourney again, back to Photopea, adjust back in Canva.... and so on. It was an absolute labor of love to create these images, create each logo, find JUST the perfect movement of hair, of mane, of powerful horse, of reflection on water, of stormcloud shade, of the perfect amount of dirt kicked up by hooves. Obsessed? Maybe. But I wanted to honor this piece and our work together for 3 weeks with something that reflected exactly the emotion I wanted to convey. Every inch of these images is 100% mine... hehe but If you'd like to use them, please feel free to do so. Enjoy them!
Thank You for these words. They're builder of strength. Sometimes we need to take a pause, and hold our peace to really understand who we are. I wish I can pin this post to always come back to it. I need to look at this every morning
#dreemerforlife
hehehe you can download the image to your phone if you want!
or bookmark this post if you use ecency 🥰
I'm glad it filled you with strength! as I was writing it, I was feeling the same!
I hope we never forget these things... 🥰
Bookmark will be fine.
I sincerely hope we don't forget this things.
And thank you for your concern always
Lovely post, Leah. I love the application of 'time to recovery.' I'm so filled with joy for you. This is big! The dreem is so pivotal to who you are as God's child. It's innate and hard-coded into your being. And the fact that you can take the dreem and any variant or offshoot of it, and use it to capture the imagination, the minds, and the hearts of those around you, is a gift that keeps on giving. You put so much heart (not to mention time) into this post, and it SHOWS! I have faith that you will continue to be blessed. I love you 💗 !LUV !LADY
#alwaysthebeginning
Own your identity. !PANDA
Hold onto your gift. !PANDA
And keep dreeming !FIREFLY
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What we see sometimes can be deceiving so sometimes I just feel we need to live life and try to be happy no matter what we’re going through
Every phase shall pass
True. It does confuse me a little, though. Our memories, both good and bad, do a lot to make us who we are today. And who we will be in eternity as well. Wouldn't you expect they'd be stored in something more perfect and eternal?
That makes a lot of sense :) If our physical reactions and even our memories can't taint the dreem, it remains perfect ♥️
This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project
These words relates to this Bible portion - Deut 1:6
This is indeed a wake up call and we really need to recover quickly and move on to the next important task in our lives. We have a lot to do and the time to starts is, now.
This post is not only soul lifting but strengthening too and I love those images, they are special. You indeed put all your heart into making them.
Thank you for sharing.
#dreemerforlife #freecompliments
One of the immutable truths I have known about you, is your solid core. At your core, is God. His love and His gifts. You have always taken strength and life from that.
On another note, I follow this horse farm, on the youtube. One of the horses, I thought, was a Fresian. I finally looked the breed up. These are powerful, strong, and simply beautiful Creatures. Reminds me of your Dreem. Powerful. Strong. Beautiful.
This is beautiful in every way. Every paragraph has their story to say. A need to rise and overcome. To truly cherish what we have and continue moving forward.
The need to rest will come, take it. Mistakes will rise, don't let them define you. Society will mock, don't let them get to you. For as long as God is with you, who can go against you?
You know this answer, and so do I. So charge forward with your will to explore and create your world. You are the perfect creator for it. No one can do it better like you do.
Thanks for sharing this message, Mama.
Hello, dearest fashionable dreemer. Happy New Day! Friday is here again, and the weekend awaits once again. I hope you are fully geared for what lies await. You should be because you are a beauty. I waltzed in from #dreemport, for I am an amazing #dreemer. An awesomely made #dreemerforlife.
Descarte once quoted in his theory of dualism. The brain is an organ of the body while the mind is extension of the soul. Every human has a unique state of mind which makes them differ from others. Despite having unique capabilities at some point we wish to be something or someone else and the truth is we never really know the true nature of those things or especially people because humans are fond of projecting who they are not. So it is left for each individual to see value in their unique capabilities, if we don't no one else will.
Pop in from #dreemport
#Dreemerforlife
This is an amazing post and I had a great time reading it! Maybe it won't make sense, but I can read a lot between the lines that gets my mind going!
Also, reading your statement about the world being against us...I just had a conversation with my wife over the weekend, where we discussed what a waste of time it is to be concerned about other people's opinions. Someone else's opinion doesn't have to be your reality.
Likewise, money is merely a tool. And as long as we are "chasing" money, it will be intimidating and overwhelming, until we learn to use it for what it is...a tool. The same with time, we should be able to take control and use time as a tool that has been given to us to get things done, instead of being intimidated, overwhelmed, and driven by it.
Thank you for sharing this awesome post with us!