STILL CHASING DREAMS

Are you still chasing dreams, or have you stopped dreaming entirely? If you have a dream and are still reaching for the sun, I applaud you! At any age, in any circumstance, one can dream. A dream, after all, is free. It can help one get to the next week, day, or hour just by existing. Believing that one day one's dream will come true has helped many troubled minds to relax enough to fall asleep. Sometimes, a good night’s sleep is all one needs to change one's perspective on life.

As we get older, our dreams and goals change. More often than not, career advancement is no longer a consideration. Instead, hopes shift toward better relationships, personal fulfillment, and a deeper understanding of self and those around us. Some people will take classes, join groups, or indulge in hobbies they never had time for while working and/or raising their families. But some will take big swings and dream big, life-changing dreams!

If given the opportunity, would you make a life-changing decision in your later years, or would you keep living a comfortable, safe life? Is there something you've always wanted to do, but you feel you’re too old, or is the financial risk too big to try? Maybe fear is the only thing holding you back?

At my age now, I’m very aware that time is limited, so if I’m going to do something, I'd better do it now. That’s where I’m at now. I like challenging myself and going into uncomfortable spaces. Next year I’ll have an opportunity to take a big swing at something, but I haven’t decided what yet. However, dreaming about different options has lifted my spirit. I sit in front of my laptop and scroll for hours, looking at places to live in different states, knowing that it may never come to fruition. But oh, how wonderful those hours have been. I escape into a dream world where everything is perfect and Bobby McFerrin’s song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” plays in my head. Whether I shake up my life yet again is still to be determined. Having something to look forward to gives me joy and encourages me to stay active, hopeful, and, more importantly, grateful.

WHAT IS LOVE?

Love means different things to different people. A simple definition would be that love is an emotion defined by strong feelings toward someone or something. However, love, especially love between a man and a woman, is anything but simple.

There once was a time when I was madly in love with a man. While in the throes of those wild, lustful times, I thought, like many foolish girls, that I couldn’t live without him. In my first book, Bittersweet, Eloise experiences a passionate love that would change the course of her life. She would learn that loving someone is harder than being in love. We experience various forms of love in our lifetime. I hope you experience them all, yes, even the mad, passionate love of a lifetime that breaks your heart. Because you will remember that beautiful man or woman for the rest of your life; you will remember the passion and love you once shared, and you will know you are capable of great love.

The first love we hopefully experience will be the love of our parents, grandparents, or an adult charged with raising us. I had good parents who did their best. They were like Delray, Dinah, Lucinda, and Ambrose in my book, Rolling In The Deep, who migrated from Louisiana to Los Angeles in search of a better life. The book is set in the neighborhood where I grew up, and it is a love letter to a time, place, and group of people I loved, set inside a fictional ghost story.

My parents didn’t toss around the word love; instead, they showed their love by staying together to raise their family. No matter what was going on in their relationship. They worked any job to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. They may not have said the word love often, but I knew I was loved. As an adult, I understand the sacrifice that they made for their children. Sacrifice and learning to love yourself enough is the theme in the book, Finally, Doing Me!

-My book, Finally, Doing Me!, is the story of four women of a certain age who have stayed connected for over 40 years and are learning to love themselves enough to pursue their personal happiness no matter the cost.

What is love? What does it cost? What does it require? In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, the Bible lists love's attributes. Love is everything good; it endures, hopes, and never fails. Falling in love is easy; loving someone requires work. Sometimes, as women, we are so busy caring for and loving others that we forget to love ourselves. We put our hopes and dreams last until some time; they get lost.

I hope you take a little time today to love yourself. Grab a cup of coffee and check out one of my books. My books are available on Amazon and at BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com

If my books resonate with you, please leave a review.

CROSSING TO THE OTHER SIDE

I haven’t gotten to the other side yet, but I’m almost there. I can almost taste it. The heaviness that had kept me in a sunken place is lifting. The joy that was promised in the morning blows past like the wind, and my soul dances as it did before. Although it hasn’t come to stay, I know it will one day soon.

This getting to the other side is taking years, but it’s happening, and for that I’m grateful. The grief that has clung to me all these years, I want to ball it up and throw it far away from me, and yet I know I can’t escape what I must go through to get to the other side. For wisdom has taught me that there is something to be learned in this pain. The crushing pain that threatens to break me mentally, emotionally, and physically has been diminished greatly. It is no longer a constant threat to my well-being. That pain, on rare occasions, sneaks up on me, surprising me with a piercing blow.

I can see myself much like the chicken crossing the road to get to the other side. Because on the other side is hope for a better day. On the other side is peace, joy, abundance, love, and everything that God has promised. I have spent years grieving the loss of people that I loved, as well as a time and place I will never have again. However, in that process, I have grown deeper in my faith and found out how much I love to write.

Writing is also helping me to get to the other side. In my books, I honor the people I love/loved. They are reflected in the stories through some idiom or mannerism. My books are an expression of my love for the culture and of how African American women, in particular, move in the world. If you are looking for books about Black family legacy, womanhood, buried truths, survival, and love with consequences, then look no further.

My books are Bittersweet, Finally, Doing Me! and Rolling In The Deep, by Evelyn C. Fortson. (available on Amazon or https://store.bookbaby.com)