Driving to Miami

Happy Tuesday, My Friend!

I had the most disturbing dream last night. Was it disturbing, though? Is that the word? Or is unsettling a better description? Remarkable? That might be it. No ghosts or bad guys were chasing me. In fact, it was the absence of fear that made this dream so . . . . odd. Let me explain.

You see, I often dream that I am driving a vehicle and there is something scary about it. Sometimes, I can see that I will soon be going over a bridge up in the distance, and you may or may not know how I feel about driving over bridges—terrified—that’s how. I also frequently dream that I’m driving, and I see a large city up ahead and know that I’m headed right for the busy downtown. I know that I need to turn around because I absolutely hate driving in big cities, but I can’t slow down quickly enough to make the turn to get myself going in the other direction. It just occurred to me that I never seem to arrive at my destination. I’m just scared in the process of getting there.

So here’s the weird thing about last night’s dream: I willingly drove to downtown Miami—twice—with no qualms! I have never done such an outlandish thing in real life. I can count on one hand the times I’ve been to Miami. We went as a family a couple of times, but my husband was always at the wheel. I went once with my daughter when she was home from college, and she was on the hunt for interesting fabric for her senior design project. Thank God my kids didn’t inherit my driving phobias.

Back to me driving to Miami. There was a store or an area of the city that I really wanted to get to. I even remember that there wasn’t a parking lot where I was going and that I’d have to find street parking, but that didn’t deter me. There I was, driving around Big City, Florida, not scared one bit.

Not scared one bit.

What in the world? That is so not like me! I’m basically a scaredy-cat. I’m a “don’t go out on a limb” person because, you know, the branch might break, and then you’re really in for it! So, to have this dream where I was doing something so out of my comfort zone and not being bothered by it? So weird!

Just this morning, I needed to make a phone call and felt nervous about it. I don’t love talking on the phone, and I had to ask someone a question, so I was feeling rather intimidated. Before I dialed, I recalled my dream and told myself, “It’s just like driving to Miami.”

I’ve done something else lately that required stepping out of my nice, comfy little zone—a bit of climbing out on a limb. This is just a teaser, though. I can’t quite tell you what it is yet. Soon and very soon . . . stay tuned.

How about you? Is there something you have wanted to do but it seems a little too risky? Something that might cause you to stretch a bit? Sometimes stretching can feel uncomfortable, but don’t we always hear it’s good for us?

Listen, if I can drive to Miami without being nervous, there’s no telling what you can do!

Written with love – – – Patti XOXO