Learning to Fly!

“When you come to the edge of all the light you have known, and are about to step out into darkness, Faith is knowing one of two things will happen – there will be something to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”  
~”Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach

In the 1930’s and 1940’s, there were numerous women’s magazines. Ladies’ Home Journal and Good Housekeeping were two of them. They showed women in the role of the day—housekeeping. They suggested the number of times per week the home should be dusted, scrubbed, organized, and otherwise kept spotless. They suggested ways to look good when the “man of the house” arrived home from a tough day at the office.  In short, those magazines and their publishers set up an impossible regimen of expectations for their readers.

Many of us know women who have spent much of their lives trying to live up to the model housewife role prescribed by those magazines. The trouble is, many of them have (or had) dreams of their own, like wanting to write, or to travel, or to participate in the freedoms only men then enjoyed.

Today, any of us can achieve our dreams. All too often, however, we are still denied our destiny by the expectations set by others.  We are bombarded by radio, TV, CD, DVD, and internet messages that insist we follow their example, their guidelines, or their models. We allow our dreams to wither and die—waiting in line for their turn to blossom—never receiving the water of encouragement needed to grow and bloom.

What about your dreams? Need some encouragement to help you “think outside the box?”  Begin by spending time with others who have already achieved their dreams. Leave your nay-sayer acquaintances behind. Read inspiring biographies. Pick up a copy of “Think & Grow Rich” or “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” If you haven’t yet learned to “fly,” pick up “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” or “Illusions” by Richard Bach.

As Jonathan says in the book, “Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly!”