I seem to have a lot more time now to stare out of a window. Is it a lockdown thing? Or an age thing? I’m not sure. Hopefully looking outwards to find inner inspiration, and sometimes even finding it!
When you were at school, did you ever get told off for staring out of the window, or daydreaming? Were you ever called “dilly daydream”? I think I was, more than once. Curtly brought back to reality, or forced to focus on what was being said. Brought back down to earth, creativity stifled.
Daydreaming, or what psychologists like to call “anticipatory thinking” can in fact be a good thing. It allows the brain some breathing space to process, ponder and imagine. It enables us to make sense of new or novel ideas, and it helps us to create a possible future through our dreams and visions.
For anyone wishing to make changes to their lives, or reach a specific goal, daydreaming can provide the visualisation needed to cement those ideas into our consciousness, and help make them a reality. If we can see a potential future in our minds eye, it becomes more real and realistic that we can actually achieve it.
Daydreams also contain the quiet whispers (sometimes not so quiet!) of something that we secretly want to achieve, but have yet to give life to. It could be a career change or yearning to travel. Ok, so maybe you won’t make it as a professional footballer…but you might want to consider taking a coaching course. Or instead of singing on a West End stage, you could try some amateur dramatics or open mic nights.
If you have a recurring idea or dream, no matter how fantastical it might seem, listen to it. It might contain the clue to something that would really make your heart sing.