benna elenco!

As part of my journey to begin dreaming, I began my bucket list yesterday! Yes, it's already rather extensive, but dreams don't include limitations, ey?

• go skydiving
• get a tattoo [ 19 april 2016]
• play a solo gig 
• write a book
• learn a foreign language [Chinese, 2014-present]
• befriend an enemy
• live abroad for more than a year [2013-2014, China]
• go sailing
• get a motorcycle license
• ride a zipline in a jungle/forest
• go snowboarding
• go hang gliding
• see the Northern Lights
• go to a ball
• grow a vegetable garden
• visit an ancient castle
• visit Loch Ness
• go to Bonnaroo
• go to Glastonbury
• go to Hawaii
• see the Taj Mahal
• become ambidextrous
• see the Egyptian Pyramids
• visit Jerusalem and historic Biblical landmarks
• climb up in a lighthouse
• ride in a hot air balloon
• get married to a man who loves God more than I do
• visit D.C. and tour the White House
• write an investigative journalism article for a newspaper
• skip a rock all the way across a river  [16 june 2012]
• scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef
• be the last man standing in dodgeball
• have a pet reptile
• walk a tightrope at least 50ft. above the ground
• catch a homer at a pro baseball game
• watch a Premier League match in England [go Blues!]
• change someone's life for the better
• learn to cook
• learn to sew
• do a paper route
• take a stranger to dinner
• have really short hair [2014]
• have really long hair
• win a musical competition
• sleep in a cave
• sing in a gospel choir
• ride in a Venetian gondola
• visit: London, Dublin, Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, Vancouver, Rome, Athens, Moscow, Florence, Buenos Aires, Auckland, Tokyo, ....

I hope to keep updating as I continue to dream. Enjoy! :)

• learn to play soccer
• go kayaking [summer 2013]
• go horseback riding
• take a belly dancing class
• go zorbing
• go to Carnival, Rio de Janeiro
• go to Loy Krathong [festival of lights] in Thailand
• learn to juggle
• be an extra on a major network television show
• drive a Lamborghini
• design an article of clothing and have it sold
• go to the World Cup
• go to Wimbledon
• go whitewater rafting

-H

23 avril 2012/ 4 mai 2012

I just remembered I had this post sitting in my drafts. It's been here about 2 weeks now... 

To start us off, a haiku by my dearest friend, Chelsi:

Walking through the tall grass

My legs get tickled

Thanks, Chels. 

And on to the dreams.

This past week in my weekly meeting with my mentor, she asked me what my dreams are. I immediately spouted out what I've programmed myself to respond when someone asks what I want to do with my life:  serve overseas, live in a big city, be around people all the time, etc... But she challenged me. What specifically are my dreams? What are my goals? What do I anticipate, pray for, move towards, on a daily basis? Well, that one got me thinking...

History: I have never been one to set goals. I've experience life in more of a "walk-through-the-open-door-right-in-front-of-you" way. I have faith God will open a door, and He does. Earlier in life that maybe wasn't my reasoning. Before I never really set goals so I wouldn't get disappointed... worked out great for Christmastime as a kid!

So what are my dreams. Dreaming. Dreams. Dreamer. I began searching. What passions do I have? Where did these passions come from? Why am I wired the way I am? What purpose does the Father have for the setup of a human he's made me to be? It's not random, I know this. I have faith that my future is in the hands of the Creator, so I've never really cared to give the future much thought because I know God will outline my steps as I seek Him. He's got me taken care of, so why in the world would I wonder and fret over things out of my control? I love being happy with what life has now, because it's where I am and I love to enjoy it. But where does He want to take me? Am I preparing myself for the paths ahead? 

Dreams. Is a dream a shooting star propelling past stagnant thoughts fixated in the milky way? Do dreams move, or do I move towards my dream? Am I the shooting star, and my dream is the sun? How does one dream, or learn to dream? 

Thoughts: I once read that someone was "dreaming the Father's dream". This small phrase left an impression on my heart. My initial response to reading this was "I want to do that!" So I thought well, how would I do that? What does that mean, to dream the Father's dream? Perhaps being so intimate with the Creator that my thoughts, passions, dreams, pleasures, and desires align with the dream He has for me: life in love. Yes. A dream that transcends my daily living and delivers a message beyond the confines of one day. 

Life in love. 

Not the most specific thing in the world, but a dream shouldn't be a goal, rather the actions and purposes of daily life are threaded with love into the strand of life, just a bead at a time, all in place. It becomes the defining piece I state. 

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Sometimes it takes me writing to actually figure out what is going on in my mind. Things become so blurry I can't focus on anything quite clearly. This is why it is important to write and to seek understanding of the things already in my head. Just because it's there doesn't mean I've devoted time into discovering who it is. This blog was dedicated to definition such as this #dreamsareiridescent