You must be prepared to dream

I'm going to kick this journal off with some music. Sit back, turn it up, enjoy.


That pretty much sums up how I have been feeling lately. You all know how I believe in living each day to it's maximum but even with that positive attitude I find myself looking back sometimes and thinking what if?.  Never has there been a more wasted feeling than what if? There is nothing I can do about my past life now. I can only deal with the here and now and the future. Those of you who have a longer future ahead of you than I do (I mean those of you who are younger than me) please, I urge you, if you have a dream then follow it to the very end. Do not give up on it. You are one of the lucky ones if you have a dream. I never did. It is only now that I can see the paths I wish I had taken. Not too late for some things but it is too late for others. I am not one for regrets but I am one for addressing things that I think need addressing. When I was young I never knew what I wanted to do. That meant I had no real direction. I'm not saying that is a totally bad thing as it applies to many people. I think I would have achieved more if I did have a direction back then though. I wish I had taken my photography more seriously back then and followed my heart rather than taking the safe options that came along. The thing is, at the time, I just didn't have a dream just like so many people. 
I'm not beating myself up over it I just see that I could have done much more than I have done. More travelling, more photography, more living and less working. I know this is a subject I keep coming back to but I think it is important. We all live under enormous pressure to earn a crust to put food on the table, have a roof over our heads, pay the bills, take care of our families. That is what drives us and we forget what it is to actually be alive. 
This is where the dreams come into it. Dreams lift you out of the everyday. They can make you more than you are. So you young artists out there, take your dreams and run with them. You won't regret trying. You may regret not trying. If you are one of the lucky ones........someone who has a dream......think yourself truly blessed and (as my friend Gigi just said) don't just have the dream.....DO IT. 

"Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse? "
Bruce Springsteen

 We can all dream though. I have new dreams now. If you like, I am drawing up a bucket list of places I wish I had been and things I wish I had done. So in May I am off to Italy to see Pompeii, Herculaneum, Naples and Vesuvius. I need to go back to Iceland as there is so much more I want to see there. I want to see polar bears in the wild. I want to see the Northern Lights. I can tell you......the list goes on and on. I probably won't get to do it all but I am now giving myself that direction that I have been missing. 
Up until three or four years ago I lived my life with no health issues and really took for granted that I could do anything I wanted. Well I have had a series of issues in the last three years, none of them life threatening, but enough to wake me up to the fragility of one's existence on this planet. So make sure you do everything you can do to fill up your life with good stuff. Smiles, hugs, love, excitement. I will not get to the end full of regrets. I will get to the end saying "I'm not done yet". Of that I'm pretty sure because I don't think one lifetime is enough for me to do everything I want to do. I'm going to try though. 

And now over to you. My friends You wonderful artists. You all make a difference in this world. You each leave something behind that has not been done before. You are all unique and you make things from your hearts that only come from that special place that artists have. I love looking at your creations. You are all an inspiration to me. You are cut from a different cloth. Here are some new pieces for you to enjoy from a bunch of people who love what they do. I love them for that reason at the very least. Take a moment, if you can, and see if there is anything you enjoy. Please let the artist know if you have enjoyed their work. I'm sure they will appreciate it very much. 


                   

           
              

           

             

                  

                    

              

             

           

              

                 

             

                

                 

               

               

              

               

                

                

                   

               

                    

                

Thank you so much for looking. I truly hope you found something to love among these pictures. Drop in on the artists, say hello and check out their other work. Meet some new people while you are at it?
Until next time
Follow your dreams. Spread the love and take care of each other. My love to you all as always