Me: I’ve had trouble getting excited enough about my own life. Why is that?
My Heart: Are you comparing your own life to dreams you’ve had?
Me: Yes, at least partly. There’s the dreams I’ve had for how I’d like my life to be and there’s the dreams I’ve had when my eyes were closed.
My Heart: There’s also visions you’ve had when your eyes were open.
Me: Including one with a beautiful environment that had lush greenery, a clean body of water, and a relaxing waterfall. I felt like I was physically present at that location. The scenery surrounded me. I even heard the waterfall. I don’t know where on Earth that location is. It’s almost like I was floating on top of the water. I had that vision in the summer of 2006 when I was working in a warehouse as a shipper / receiver.
My Heart: And there’s all those dreams where you were flying.
Me: Flying, floating, levitating. All of it done effortlessly. Those have been some of my favorite dreams. I’ve had countless of those. I especially enjoy the feeling of being able to do such things.
My Heart: It’s been such a severe contrast from your daily life.
Me: My daily life can feel as if it’s defined by restraints and difficulties, but my dreams have shown another side of things — one where I am much more than my limitations.
My Heart: Or any of the world’s current limitations.
Me: So, with dreams and visions like that, isn’t it natural to be disappointed by daily life in comparison?
My Heart: Be careful about making comparisons. If you’re ever disappointed by your daily life, you still have your dreams and visions to return to.
Me: As a form of escapism?
My Heart: No, as a form of inspiration. It’s been well-documented about things such as songs and inventions coming to people in their dreams, then they took their dreams and created something from that. You can do the same. Remember what you’ve written previously about the Genius Equation. The 1% inspiration has to be continually returned to as you work through the 99% perspiration to create something.
Me: If I’m understanding you correctly, then you’re saying that the reason I’ve had trouble getting excited enough about my own life is that my inspiration hasn’t been clear enough or at least that I haven’t returned to my inspiration consistently enough.
My Heart: That is correct. Now what will inspire you?
Me: I have found music to be helpful. Sometimes I wish I could write music. I’ve had tunes come to mind that it would have been great to know how to write them down.
My Heart: You could have recorded yourself humming or singing those tunes.
Me: You’re right. That would have been a helpful thing to do. At least the tunes would have been available for me to refer to. I could even have played them for a musician who might have been able to write musical notes from the recordings.
My Heart: What else will inspire you?
Me: The simple belief that what I create matters.
My Heart: Ah, the exercise of faith instead of the constant replay of doubt. And you know what happens when you exercise your faith.
Me: It gets stronger.
My Heart: And you don’t need much faith to turn your dreams into reality. A little yeast is enough to make the entire loaf of bread rise.
Me: Faith that is barely visible can move mountains.
My Heart: What mountains do you need to move? Mountains of doubt, perhaps?
Me: That’s what those mountains could be. If that’s the case, then faith is, at minimum, many billions of times more powerful than doubt.
My Heart: Yes, at minimum. You don’t know the power of faith until you really put it to the test. Keep looking for inspiration wherever you can find it, and keep reminding yourself about inspiration that helps lift you up and move you along. Do you know where inspiration comes from?
Me: It comes from the heart.
My Heart: Now you have some ideas for how to get excited enough about your own life. Are you willing to see where this journey takes you?
Me: I’m willing to find out. I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t know all the possible outcomes.
My Heart: That’s cause for excitement instead of cause for fear. Use your faith, and your faith will set you free. You might not know in this moment what steps you need to take in the future. With faith, you expect that there are always steps to take and that you will know what those steps are when it is time to take them. Step out in faith, and allow your faith to be rewarded.
Me: I realized another reason why I’ve had trouble getting excited enough about my own life. I’ve been looking through the lens of doubt instead of through the lens of faith. I’ve metaphorically kept my eyes closed to the enjoyable and useful possibilities that are available for me in life.
My Heart: The mindset you’ve applied to life is one that has kept you depressed. Such a mindset was never under warranty and can be traded in at any time for one that will give you joy and peace.
Me: What is the cost of the trade in for the mindset that helps me see the fun in life?
My Heart: It’s simple. You get to give up your old way of thinking. You get to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That’s the cost.
Me: This reminds me of something I was told 20 years ago. I was given a peek into the future, a future that hasn’t happened yet. I was described as having such joy, an overflowing amount of it. I was care-free, and it was obvious to anyone who saw or heard me. I’ve thought back to that description of myself at various times in the decades since then, and I can see that it could yet come true.
My Heart: Would you like it to come true?
Me: (overcome with emotion) With all my heart, yes.
My Heart: Then let that description of yourself be the inspiration that gets you excited enough about your life, and keep returning to that inspiration whenever you need to — even if it’s multiple times a day. Become more of who you were born to be. You have my express permission to stop pretending to be someone you’re not. Be the you that lights up the world.
Conclusion
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Until next time,
James Barnett
