our hidden dreams...

I am on full time gramma mode to my five year old grandson for the next two weeks while mommy adjusts to the new babe.  That means tee ball practice and kindergarten drop offs along with the usual "why", "how come" and "just one more time" questions and requests that need answers around the clock.

As I dropped Andrew off at his classroom this morning I was reminded of that old quote by Robert Fulghum, "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten".

Andrew's class has just started to do show and tell each week.  The kids bring a treasure from home to share with the class, telling them just why it's so special to them.  I watched as one little girl carefully cradled her treasure in her hands, hiding it from her classmates, peeking in through the tiny hole she left exposed by her cupped fingers.

As the other kids watched her they became enthralled with what must certainly be a rare treasure that she was hiding.  The more she kept it hidden, the more they needed to know it's identity.

Finally she uncurled her fingers to expose a small blue plastic ring.  The kids took one look, shrugged their shoulders and went on about their business.  She turned away heart broken.  The thing she kept hidden, her treasure that she had guarded so carefully, meant nothing to them.

Isn't that how we can be, too?  We hide our most secret dreams from others out of fear that they won't be safe once shared.  That our hearts desire will simply be dismissed once exposed...so we hold our tongues, we squelch our passions and we live less than abundant lives.

I remember being that little girl.  I remember the pain of rejection.  It has hindered my creative self my whole life.

I have a dream or two that I hold back from the world but I am slowly learning to trust those closest to me with my heart and am taking baby steps to make those dreams a reality.  Am I scared, you bet.

I am finding that my fear is not in failing but in disappointing...myself and others.

I have decided that I cannot let that fear hold me back.  I don't want to wake up someday filled with regrets.  What about you?  Any dreams that you are holding on to for fear of exposing something that won't be treasured?  I say the fear of regret is much greater than the fear of failure...let's dare to live our dreams together.

xo, Patty