When the universe taps me on the shoulder

A lot of people have often told me that I shouldn’t take my nocturnal dreams so seriously. “They’re just dreams,” they say. Or there’s the scientific explanation about why we have dreams or some other out-there theory.

But I do pay attention to the dreams that I have. My dreams have inspired my writing for years. I have often gotten ideas for stories because of my dreams, or I’ll have a “dream story” and write the story exactly as I dreamed it. (Though there are times I’ll need to add details or something else to make the story work.) My dreams have also included lost loved ones, and often, when I have shared such dreams, sometimes someone says that maybe it was really a visitation by this person. Shortly after her death, my mom was in my dreams a lot. There was even one dream I had where she had a dog with her – a dog I never knew but who my cousin told me had belonged to both of my parents. My dad, grandmother, grandfather and another cousin have also been in my dreams.

But sometimes, dreams give me answers I am unable to figure out on my own. And, they can even suggest something when I am struggling with a long-term problem.

That is how I figured out what to do with my life after I hit 40 and knew it was time for me to do other things. I had a VERY strong feeling that it was time for me to take a new path and do something else with my life now. Up until then, it was writing. But now I knew it was time to put something else front and center. I could continue to write, but something else had to be the Big Deal in my life now.

I just couldn’t figure out what it was. I kept saying, “I know I need to do something different, but what??” I talked to friends and family, hoping to get suggestions. I brainstormed for ideas and read articles on various kinds of jobs out there. I took job quizzes and visited job-seeking sites to see what grabbed me.

And even when something grabbed me, nothing stuck. I was so indecisive. I kept going between “yes, I want to do this!” and “no, I don’t think that’s right for me.” I even explored my ideas in detail before I even took action to try them out in real life. Nothing ever stuck! And then at one point, when I vented about this on Facebook, and how I doubted I could EVER get anything new going on because I have so many interests and want to do so many things, a friend said that I’m a scanner, and that I should check out Barbara Sher’s books. I did; I went to the library and checked out every Barbara Sher book they had! I am now almost done reading the last one.

And at this point, I have discovered the next thing I want to do in life. But it wasn’t one of Barbara’s books that helped me to figure that out. (Though I have gleaned a bunch of inspiring quotes from her books and a lot of information on some amazing and helpful tools for scanners.) The thing that helped me figure out my next move in life was a dream!

Yes, I DREAMED I was working a particular job. And when I woke up from that dream, I cried out, “That’s it!”

And the best part is, THAT particular idea stuck. I knew with all of my being that I had to make the person I was in the dream a reality. I had to make that happen!

So I took a friend’s old advice to apply at this place where I could get that particular kind of job. I had not taken my friend’s suggestion to apply there in the past, because I read the job description and all of a sudden my social anxiety and introversion had me practically running for the hills. But this time, I felt stronger. Screw anxiety! And I could indulge in being an introvert AFTER work. I HAD to do this thing. I MUST do this thing! It was just a dream, sure, but I all of a sudden felt a very strong desire to do exactly what I saw myself doing in that dream.

And I am very pleased and immensely grateful that I was able to get that kind of a job. I made that dream come true! I am just so happy and relieved that I finally got a job but, even better, that the job is EXACTLY what I wanted to do.

This is not the first time that I have dreamed about something and tried to make that dream a reality. There are so many times I have dreamed about doing something or achieving something in life and I try to make that happen in my real life. I didn’t want that particular thing to “just be a dream” or to exist “only in my dreams.” I have tried to do the things that I have dreamed about.

But, you know, sometimes, it takes two people to make things happen. There’s usually some person who has all cards and must make The Decision on whether or not this thing will come about.

With the job that I got, it was up to the people who hired me. With other things, it could be up to one person or even just Life itself! Sometimes, no matter what I do, it just isn’t in the cards! A person can decide whether or not they want this to happen with me, too, or whether or not they want me in their lives too. It’s either “Yes, Dawn, let’s make this happen” or it’s “Get the hell out of my life and don’t ever bother me with your rubbish again!”

You know? It’s not all on me. It’s me AND another person or a group of people or the forces of nature!

I am usually stubborn and I am the kind of person to try, try again. But there really is a point when I have to recognize that when somebody else is making the decision on whether or not something can happen., I have to accept that decision. No matter how much it hurts or how painful it is. If the other person I am relying on to make something happen says “no way,” then it’s not happening! There is no way around that, either.

The people who hired me could have turned me down. This is true. But you know what? I would have kept trying to get that kind of job anyway, because even if I did not get that job at that one place, it would not have destroyed my desire to obtain that kind of employment. I would have gone somewhere else! I would not have given up so easily. I would not have shrugged it off and gone “Oh, well. What else should I do?” NO, I would have tried again! Because this is too important to me to just throw away. Even if I hadn’t gotten that job, I would not have given up and forgotten all about that dream or all about that desire. That desire would still be there! Even now it is still there. And I love the kind of work I am doing. It’s great! And I am just so happy that I was able to make that dream a reality.

And that’s something I can’t stop thinking about, either. I was ACTUALLY ABLE to make that dream come true! Just like that! I did it! I made it happen!

That is just SO awesome. The universe tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Hey, Dawn, why not do this now?” I said, "Great idea! Yes, I want to do that!" And I took action to make that suggestion a reality. AND IT CAME TRUE!! I was able to make something I dreamed about an ACTUAL and REAL thing!!

And in a way, making that dream come true is a very nice reminder that all is not lost. There’s lots of times I failed to make the things I dreamed about a reality, but making a dream come true after so many failed attempts with other dreams is a great reminder that I can’t give up trying. And MAYBE there is actually that one odd dream I have every once in a while that I can make a reality! Maybe the others weren’t meant to be a reality. Or maybe they were just dreams and nothing more. Like people say. I take comfort in knowing that at least I TRIED to make those other dreams come true. I gave it a go, I tried to make it happen, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Someone or some THING decided that it wasn’t going to happen.

But when it DOES happen, when I am successful in making a dream a reality, it’s an amazing feeling. I am very grateful I was able to turn what I dreamed about into a reality. And, I think, maybe it’s not so terrible to keep trying to make any other new dreams I have a reality, too. Who knows what other ideas I will get from future dreams. Some of them never happened, but I’m starting to have faith that maybe some of them will. I just have to have faith and the strength to keep trying. And, meanwhile, keep dreaming.