Tomorrow
She’s not here yet but I look forward to meeting her!
I’m such a lover girl for the future.
Daydreaming is my forte and my imagination has always been my biggest cheerleader in pointing out every possibility, every way reality can bend and form into something marvelous.
And yet—even as a futuristic minded soul—I can safely say, that every plan I have ever made has been thwarted, to some undeniable degree, by Madam Future. Like actually.
The babe doesn’t let me rest!
And every time this happens, I of course feel discouraged. I start panicking and trying to figure out how to make it all better, and how to not feel like such a failure. If you’re anything like me, when your plans get trashed, you sort of combust.
Here’s three things I’ve been learning to do recently, that has helped me look toward’s tomorrow with more hope and excitement (and less combusting), even when plans go awry:
DREAM THE DREAM WORLD
Dreams make us giddy, they make our hearts beat faster. They reveal our sincere desires with such force that it feels like free falling through the skies with zero fear; because we know we’re going to land on our feet, or on a cloud, or slide down a rainbow like a mythical creature.
SIGH, I love dreams.
I bet you love dreams too, magical girl. So don’t stop dreaming! Because it’s not just for the fun and fluff-dreams give us direction. They might exist only in our minds (for now) but they shape our internal compasses, and our abilities to discern which path feels right to take next. They help us understand what we like and don’t like. Plus where we think we want to end up and why.
A fun way to examine all this up close, is to plot your dreams down in the real! Whether that’s on paper or on your computer or in a rather length voice note. You can make it one of those prose day-in-the-life exercises. You can call it “A Day in the Life of Dream World.”
Be as honest and dramatic as you want. Literally nobody can come for you. If you like being creative, you can turn it into a little once-upon-a-time story. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to get started:
What activity would I love to be doing more of?
What are my dream hobbies?
If I could, where would I live? What would I do there? What kind of environment would I be in?
What kind of friends/community do I want to build/have?
How do I want to ideally begin/end my days?
You can also always start with, What’s something I want to do, right now? Or, just forgo all questions and free write your heart out!
Fully knowing ourselves takes time, like a lot of time, but starting with the dreams and desires floating around in our heads (no matter how far-out) can give us a more hopeful perspective.
And hope is the best lens to see tomorrow!
PLAY THAT DRESS UP GAME
So you have your dreams all plotted and you’re asking yourself; What’s next? How the heck do I get there??
This next metaphor is for my soft gamers. My fashion-fierce digital besties, who spend hours matching the fishnet tights to those butterfly wings on their avatar. You all know exactly what’s up! And even if you’re not into dress up games—trust me, this is gonna make sense:
You see, there are these mobile dress up games with super chill background music, that let you build a hundred new characters with customizable outfits. It’s a blank canvas with a giant wardrobe; the world is your oyster!
Each time you complete a new look, you feel totally unstoppable and can happily save it to your archive. And with each character you build and accesrozie, you try out new ideas and new outfit combos. You low key become a stylist pro.
It’s time to start thinking of your present dreams as playing a dress up game!
There are so many ways to get where we want to be, so many ways to turn our dreams into reality. And on this journey called life, while we can’t predict the end result, we can try different routes to find what sticks. To find our rhythm!
Sometimes the characters I dress up on those games are whatever, and sometimes the styling is sooo good that I feel like someone needs to hire me, LOL. The same goes for figuring out the path to your dreams!
For example, if you want to publish a novel someday (idk maybe you do!) or spend more time writing. You could start doing weekly free writes on plot and story ideas, just to figure out what you like. Or, you could start a blog and post a chapter every month. Or maybe you could write a short story and share it with your friends or creative mentors.
Every time you “play that dress up game” you’ll discover something new, something to show you the next step in the direction of your tomorrow. And remember, each trial isn’t starting “all over again,” because you’ve “filed away” what you’ve done before—every trial goes into your memory archive, building a foundation you can always reference!
(PS: If you don’t want to rely on your memory alone, you can create a physical archive of photos/prose/drawings/anything to document your trials on your “dream journey"!)
And though you may not always get it right, every time you try, you build momentum. Eventually, you’ll see your dreams unfold, in unexpected ways, right before your eyes!
Of course this is all easier said that done, and i’m working on this hard myself. Here’s a few pointers I’m learning:
Patience: This is your currency. You spend it every day. Giving yourself and your goals time and love to grow, will lift your morale and build resilience.
Consistency: I’m finding that when I keep going, I end up seeing results. This is a hard one for me though, so if you fall off the wagon of consistency come back to Patience for a comforting chat. You got this!
Varied Action: Oooh this! If you keep running into the same walls while doing the same thing, then go ahead and try something else. Varied action allows you to figure out the best ways you can spend your energy (and gain back energy) as you work on your dreams.
GRATITUDE: LOOK HOW FAR YOU’VE COME
When the going gets tough, gratitude can feel far away. I’ve found myself knee-deep in self pity and constant worry when I feel like things aren’t happening fast enough or I haven’t done enough for my dreams.
In all those times you’ve felt the same, you need only look behind to see how far you’ve come.
Not too long ago I was re-reading my old journals filled with poems and stories that I had written right from elementary school. Amongst them, I had also written about my hopes and dreams, how I wanted to write fairytales and tell stories and live a passion filled life. I spent all those years documenting my dreams, storytelling, and art—I was unknowingly building the foundation of all that would come to fruition in the present.
I recognize now that not only did little-me fight hard for my today, she left evidence of my capabilities and my purpose. I’m so grateful for her and for all that has been accomplished thus far.
I’m learning to let gratitude give me a party-popping attitude! Celebrating my wins and my trials to remind myself that if something beautiful happened yesterday due to whatever I did before, then the effort I put in today will surely create something beautiful in my tomorrow.
Gratitude reminds us that we don’t actually need to see the future—where we are today is enough evidence of what is possible. Gratitude builds faith.
And that’s all I have to say, for now!
This fairy hopes that the words above help you face the future with excitement, determination, and an open mind.
I have a feeling that Tomorrow is rooting for you, ‘cuz so am I.
xx Anastasia
Note to reader: This fairy goes to therapy btw 👀, but she is no therapist🥹. The words above are not professional advice but I hope they comfort you and help you take a step forward to wherever you wish to go!
