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Let Your Inspired Dreams Take Flight

abundance affirmations

Are you on your way to pursuing your inspired dreams? Have you thought about how awesome it would be if your dreams take flight? Or are you one of the vast majority of people who have given up on their dreams long time ago?

Dreams Take Flight
(Let our kite of dreams take flight)

It could be that you have once harbored the thought of becoming a ballerina, pilot, artist, singer or even the President when you were young. Most of these would have qualified for wishful thinking but there could have been the one or two that held the embers of your true desires.

As Brownie members in their school, my kids had gone on a kite-flying outing last Saturday. After they got home, I noted their grumpy faces and asked how the kite-flying went. They expressed their disappointment because their kites were not able to take off that day. Their remarks caused me to note the contrast in experience with another kite-flying outing we had made together some two years ago in the same location.

Back then, against the backdrop of the iconic Singapore Flyer, their kites had flown. There was a flurry of excitement as each kite took off into the open sky. My kids squealed away in delight when theirs started catching some wind. We were on a kite flying outing organized by their weekend meditation and dharma class. On individual kites, each child has written his or her desired dream. For a while, I had stood enraptured by the sight of colorful kites dancing across an open canvas.

As I watched the kites in the sky, I went back in time to the 19th century when two brothers had an idea which eventually became their passionate and consuming dream. On Friday December 17, 1903 at 10:35 AM, the Wright brothers (Wilbur and Orville) flew “the world’s first power-driven, heavier-than-air machine in which man made free, controlled, and sustained flight.” Their memorable feat took place at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on a cold windy morning.

The Wright brothers serve as great role models. Their persistence paid off finally. They had encountered numerous failure before they eventually succeeded. Thanks to them, air travel to countries all over the world has been made possible. The benefits that air travel brought have been tremendous in terms of increased trade, reduced travel time and improved productivity levels.


Problems With Take-Off

Unlike the Wright Brothers, however, most of us douse our fires of enthusiasm over the years with regards to our dreams. We caved in to the commonly-held societal view that our seemingly far-fetched ideas were too impossible to achieve. We caved in because we felt that we needed to take safe options. We simply did not have enough belief in ourselves or these dreams.

Now that years have passed, we begin to look wistfully at those who have dared differently. We feel like a piece of us is missing. If we should now become present to the emptiness that we feel inside, we will realize that it has something to do with our forgotten hopes.

Some of us even try to influence our children with some of our unrealized dreams. Unfortunately, we also have been giving out mixed signals. We send our children for weekend classes on ballet, art, theatre and music but at the same time, we tell them not to pursue these as career paths because compared to being a banker, lawyer or doctor, they will make less money.

Never Too Late to Fly Your Dreams

But, would it too late to strive for our dreams? Would it be too difficult to revive the embers of our long forgotten desires after all these years?

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
– C.S. Lewis

Let’s draw inspiration from Susan Boyle’s story. Susan Boyle burst into the limelight singing the song, “I Dreamed a Dream” as a contestant in the “Britain’s Got Talent” show. Global interest in Boyle grew because of the marked contrast between her powerful voice and her plain and awkward appearance.

In September 2010, Boyle was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as having had the fastest selling debut album by a female artist in the UK, the most successful first week sales of a debut album in the UK, and was also awarded the record for being the oldest person to reach number one with a debut album in the UK.

Susan Boyle offers us hope that it is never too late to pursue our dreams. There have been also others who have made it to the top at a time when most people are thinking of retiring. Colonel Sanders is another one. He made Kentucky Fried Chicken a country-wide name at the age of 62. Even after he sold his company, Mr. Sanders stayed on as company spokesman, promoting the chicken in folksy television commercials, until his death in 1980 at the age of 90.

Fly Your Dreams

One of my favorite quotes is this…

“Dreams are like the paints of a great artist. Your dreams are your paints, the world is your canvas. Believing, is the brush that converts your dreams into a masterpiece of reality.”

My little daughter had written that “I want to be an artist when I grow up” on her kite. My elder daughter drew a big heart on her kite, with the thought of sharing her love with everyone. If these are the dreams they truly desire, I hope that they all come true. My wish for them is that their kites will always fly high!

And likewise, I wish the same for you. Should you have a dream that you hope to nurture, I wish you every success and abundance with it. Just remember it is never too late to start!

 

Abundance always,

fbprofilemktg-2evelyn lim signature
Author. Adventurer. Life Artist.
Share Your Dream

In the comments below, do share what your dream is. Have you been working on it? Are you allowing yours to take flight?

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Evelyn

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pea - September 6, 2011 Reply

This is a great post and I particularly like the usage of the Wright Bros as a metaphor, (I often like to use them myself). There are really few restrictions to our goals save the ones we invent ourselves.

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello pea,

Thank you for your feedback. The example of the Wright Bros is a great one! What you said is true. We are our own greatest enemies, in other words.

Love and Abundance always,
Evelyn

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marc van der Linden - September 7, 2011 Reply

Not many people have enough persistence to realize their dreams. I like your example of the wright brothers. We can fly because of them. Ford was also a guy like that. We can drive cars because of them.

And artists, they show the world like they see it through their eyes. The god daughter of my girl friend is 11 and she is a a real artist. She can make drawings and figures in clay. It is a miracle how she make it like that. She shows us her dreams.

Thanks for sharing

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Marc,

I agree with what you said that not many people have enough persistence to realize their dreams. I like the example of Ford too.

Little kids can have such great imagination. We need to encourage rather than stifle them. Thank you for sharing about the 11-year old girl. I hope she grows up to be a real artist!

Love and abundance always,
Evelyn

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Angela Artemis/Poweredbyintuition - September 7, 2011 Reply

Evelyn,
This was beautiful. (Your daughters are beautiful too – like their Mom!)
I agree with you. We are never too old and it’s never too late. Everyday is an opportunity and a chance to try again.

I thank God when I wake up. I’m having fun stretching as far as I can go each day. Even if my dreams don’t manifest – I’ve grown and learned to much in the process that it will have all been worth it.

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Angela,

Thank you for your kind feedback 🙂

My observation is that not many people feel the same way as you do. There is much fear as to why they cannot pursue what they would really desire.

You have got a great mindset. I love it when you said that even if your dreams do not manifest, you would have grown and learn along the way. That makes you a winner, in every sense of the word!

Love and abundance always,
Evelyn

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Alex Blackwell | The BridgeMaker - September 7, 2011 Reply

Thanks for the encouragement and reminder!

It’s never too late to fly!

Here’s to soaring high,

Alex

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Alex,

You are welcome.

Yes, to soaring high!

Love and abundance always,
Evelyn

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Bryce Christiansen - September 7, 2011 Reply

I love that you brought up kids in this post.

Kids are some of the only people left who aren’t afraid to dream. They don’t set limits on what their potential can be. They don’t settle for less than extraordinary. They want the best of the best.

I forget to take on those qualities from time to time. I let the world tell me how much I should make, what kind of house I should live in, and what kind of career is best for me.

Thanks for the excellent lesson you shared with me today.

Bryce

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Evelyn Reply:

It will be great if we can still keep our child-like wonder and imagination even as we grow to be adults. Unfortunately, most of us lose that. In fact, it is possible that we grow more cynical by the day. A result from the disconnection with the heart, most likely.

I hope to reclaim what I have lost over the years too!

Love and abundance always,
Evelyn

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Justin | Mazzastick - September 7, 2011 Reply

Hi Evelyn,
I hope that when I am 80 that I am still setting and achieving goals. One of the leading causes of death for senior citizens is retirement.

I love hearing about how Col Sanders started KFC at the age of 62. It’s never to late for a new beginning. 🙂

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Justin,

Me too. I hope that I am still active at the age of 80 and hopefully, continuing to make valuable contributions to the world.

To your dreams,
Evelyn

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Kelly Rigby - September 7, 2011 Reply

It’s funny you should write this now as lately I am quite preoccupied with what dreams/goals I feel able to start now that my 40th birthday is looming. I find my mind very stuck on the idea that I am too old to pursue a completely new career or to do things radically different to my life to date. It’s easy to feel stuck as the years go on and motherhood has definitely made me question my personal goals. Now everything I want must be filtered through what is best for my kids and the conundrum is this tends to still any momentum as I analyse the worthiness of my goals and the havoc they may wreak upon my family. I have always struggled with balancing self and family, but I thought I had made progress in the past few years. As 40 approaches I am aware of how much I still put my desires last. It’s a hard thing to change, but I really really want to.

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Kelly,

As a mother and someone who has her own dreams, I can understand what you mean about finding that balance. I am not about to paint a rosy picture because it has not been easy in my case too. I have experienced them all: guilt, resentment, heartache, anguish, etc.

Yet, somehow, I know that I want to live life without regrets. The pain of not even trying to work towards my dreams will be far too great. I used to compare my progress to those who are single or without kids and have found it hard to catch up in terms of quantity of output. However, I help myself with the thought that the little bit that I can put in to my work each day counts. So what if I take 10 years instead of the 5 they have taken to succeed? It’s better to take 10 than not go for my dreams or do what I desire at all.

I also believe that working on my dreams assists me in my sanity. I become a better mother because of it. It also helps to make the career switch to the personal development line because it means working on myself first and foremost. Even if I do not succeed in my work goals, I have not lost anything in the end.

What has been the case for me may not necessarily work well for you. Perhaps, you can help yourself by imagining yourself 10 or 20 years from now and see the future you hope to have then. In short, you need to have a vision. Your vision will sort out your current priority. Thereafter, you live your life forwards, by holding the vision.

Let me know how else I can be of assistance to you, Kelly. You are more than you ever know yourself to be. There is no “wrong” decision, whichever way you choose. What is important is to live your moments well and in congruence with your authentic self.

With love,
Evelyn

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rob white - September 7, 2011 Reply

So elegantly said, Evelyn. Indeed, you and I were born free. This is why it’s so easy to dream big. I remember as a child: “I want to be an astronaut, no … I want to be a rodeo clown, no … I want to be the jet plane pilot.” There was nothing stopping us from dreaming up wonderful adventures. That part of us is always available at any point of our existence. Now, I love the thrill of realizing that the more I know the truth about myself, the more I realize that there is more to be known!

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Rob,

It’s great that you enjoy the thrill of knowing yourself more and more. Yes, we all still have it in us. To not able to dream is to lose the fire in our souls. Everything looks a lot brighter, clearer and bigger when we can align with what’s true in our dreams.

To your continued success,
Evelyn

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Tess The Bold Life - September 8, 2011 Reply

Hi,
I love the kite analogy. Thanks for the encouragement. I think Christopher Foster from The Happy Seeker is a perfect example of this. He is the oldest newest blogger and is 79. Amazing.

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Tess,

Wow! I didn’t realize that Christopher is 79! I am just wondering if I would still be blogging at that age.

With love,
Evelyn

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Chris Edgar - September 9, 2011 Reply

Hi Evelyn — that’s a good point — that if we don’t pursue what we genuinely want to do, we may try to live vicariously through our kids’ pursuits of the same things, and push them to be what we never were. That’s another good example of how it’s so important for parents to fulfill their own desires and not just make it about martyring themselves for their families.

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Evelyn Reply:

Hello Chris,

When I wrote that paragraph, I was reminding myself to be mindful about being supportive of my children’s dreams. You are right. It becomes all the more important that we fulfill our own dreams and not force our children live ours. Great point!

With love,
Evelyn

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Jimmy/Life Architect - September 10, 2011 Reply

Hi Evelyn,

Thank you for this post. It especially resonated with me because of the stories and examples you mentioned. I would like to begin this comment with the following quote from Earl Nightingale:

“Humans have never set a goal that they have not reached.”

The Wright brothers certainly reached their impossible dream. Do you know that five years after they put the first model in the air, scientist in Europe are still denying the existence of flight. The exploits of the Wright brothers eventually led to humans landing on the moon. How appropriate we needed a visionary like John Kennendy to give us that dream. Today, a certain Sir Richard Branson intends to put the first space toursit into orbit soon. Dare we say it will not happen?

I have come to realize that nothing is impossible and am glad I am chasing something challenging now. I just turn 39 two days ago and was just sharing on my blog that the best years of our life are actually in the second half of our life. It is going to be a great and exciting journey.

Cheers and thanks for the inspiration.

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Evelyn Reply:

Hi Jimmy,

Thank you for sharing more about what achieving the dreams of Wright brothers led to. Yes, the stories are very inspirational!

Happy Birthday! It’s great that life has just begun for you!! I wish you all the best and an amazing second half!

Abundance always,
Evelyn

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Christy - September 10, 2011 Reply

“Never too late but no time to lose”. Gonna fly high!

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Evelyn Reply:

All the best, Christy!

With love,
Evelyn

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Ajen - September 14, 2011 Reply

Evelyn- Bryce reminded me of a spiritual exhortation to have a child like mind. It is amazing how as adults, we over analyze, over criticize and over conceptualize our ideas and dreams. Sometimes we even play back all the negative comments we have ever heard in our life just because we think that we are doing are due diligence in executing our own reality check.

The reality is this: simplicity is clear, it is clean, it is humble, it is honset, and it demonstrates wisdom.

The Wright Brothers didn’t waste their time building cars while attempting to developing a means for human to experience flight… nor did Ford have his eye on aeronautics.

Laser beam focus. This is what my husband calls it. As we have our focus in life, we will find that we have already started our journey. There is no such thing as “it is too late for me to do…” or “I am too old for…”

Since the moment Susan was born, she embarked on a journey. Being on “Britian’s Got Talent” is another chapter along her journey. She like many us of us has many miles to go before she sleeps. While on our journey, we should fly our dreams high like a kite and follow where it leads us. Only at the end, we can look back and say that we have arrived.

Thank you Evelyn for making this post available for me to reflect upon tonight.

Light.

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