Is it just us, or do we all feel like it’s time for a REALLY good year? Winter is hard for all of us ocean babies, we simply are not built for the cold. But Spring is coming and that means our seasonal depression can go away along with all of our winter coats. Let’s make this a Spring full of dreams, trips, love, growth, laughter, and most importantly, the ocean.

DREAMS

I know a lot of people that have let go of a lot of dreams over the past couple of years. The pandemic has been so hard on so many people physically and financially, but I think that the scariest outcome is the way that it has impacted our minds. Our belief in our dreams is so important. It’s what can give us a feeling of hope, and structure and discipline, it can be what makes us feel alive.

There are a few ways that I want to suggest you get back into dreaming BIG dreams.

Get a dream journal. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but just a place for you to write down the things you are dreaming for. And once you feel like you have your dreams written down, start writing out a plan of how you are going to get there. Do so much research and store it all in your dream journal. Know exactly how you want your dream to look and how you plan to get there. Here is a journal that I love and use. I like to use one journal per each dream so things don’t get disorganized.
Add time to work towards your dream to your schedule. And here’s the thing, all of our dreams are going to be so different, so this is going to look so different. Maybe you dream to start a business, so you schedule 30 mins a day to research or planning or designing. Maybe your dream is to fall in love and start a family. How would you even begin to schedule that? It’s simpler than it sounds. Schedule time for self reflection and improvement, schedule time to go try new things in new groups around town, schedule time to take a class your passionate about, basically make it a priority to become the person that is worthy of the person you want to end up with, and then put yourself out there to meet new people. These past two years made the second part of that a bit tough, and there are still ways to be smart about it, but we are made for connection and friendships and relationships. Here is a schedule that I love, I can’t use the phone one for some reason. I’m someone that has to write everything down.
Pray about it. It’s so easy to start to dream about things that are not really your passion. We are receiving so much information and seeing so many images and seeing so many other people living their dreams. If we aren’t careful, we can start to compare where we are at with where someone else is at, and think that it is our dream to be in their shoes. Make sure that when you are dreaming, you are talking to God about it. He will guide your steps and reveal to you if your dreams are from Him or if they are something society has made you feel like you should want.
Talk to someone. It can be a parent, a sibling, a friend, whoever. Talk to someone who will believe in you and build you up, and also hold you accountable. Sharing our dreams can feel incredibly vulnerable, but at some point you’re going to have to believe in your dream enough to share it with your world. Might as well start practicing with your close people.

TRIPS

Let’s see the world this year. Maybe for you that’s going on just one trip because you haven’t ever been outside of your town, or maybe for someone else that’s going to ten different countries across Europe or Asia or Africa. This can vary for everyone, but there is something so special, humbling, and eye opening about experiencing another culture. It’s good for us to be reminded that a whole world exists, and we are not the center of the universe. It makes our problems seem smaller and God’s creation seem even more powerful.

Here is my list of travel necessities. They are things that have made traveling a bit smoother for me.

LOVE

Let’s make this a year where we love without conditions. Instead of showing love in order to receive it, let’s show it without any motives of getting something in return. This can be random acts of kindness, little notes to let someone know you’re thinking of them, calling someone just to check on them, showing up for a friend, helping someone struggling to carry something, etc. There are a million ways to show love, but let’s just be a little more others focused. And just to let you in on a secret, giving is always better than receiving. But just make sure you aren’t giving from an empty cup. Boundaries, time alone, and self love are incredibly important. But getting out of the mindset of the world revolving around you is the best way to feel a part of a bigger story and to feel freedom. Showing love has ripple affects.

GROWTH

Growth is something that I believe that we all should be seeking every single day that we are blessed with. Growth spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, etc. There are so many areas in our lives that we can always be growing in that I think it can seem a bit overwhelming at times. But I can tell you from personal experience that there are some things that make all of the difference.

Pick a couple of small habits to change at a time. Don’t try to completely 180 every aspect at your life or you will feel burdened and discouraged.
Silence and solitude are key for self reflection, and how will we know what areas we are being called to grow in if we don’t take time for self reflection? Be sure to pencil in some quiet time with yourself onto your schedule. And yes, this means no phone.
Remember that you are completely loved as you already are. And while we want to constantly grow closer to who God has called us to be, there is nothing you could grow into that would make you any more or less loved by God himself. So remember that, and give yourself grace just as he does.

LAUGHTER

How do we make sure this is a year filed with laughter? It’s all perspective and people. Surround yourself with people that bring light into your life, and choose to see the good in the world. Because there really is so much good, and it’s a choice. When we are in touch with our inner child, laughter flows and it is the best medicine of all time.

THE OCEAN

Wether it’s a road trip with some friends and sleeping in the car, a flight and a cheap air bnb, or a luxury vacation, I think we all need a dose (or 11) of the ocean this year. It’s grounding, it’s cleansing, and it’s a beautiful piece of God’s creation that has the ability to remind us of His gentle yet powerful love. A trick I like to use to find cheap flights is Sky Scanner. You can find such good cheap flights to random locations on there, and spontaneous trips like that are good for this soul.

I hope this gave you a little inspiration to make this year as beautiful as you can.

Here’s to Spring 2022

-Cierra

SPRING 2022