Black Girl In The City.

Hugo & Marie

I’m glad the weather is warming up. Today is the last day of winter. It’s funny, happens like clockwork every year. Spring ushers in new opportunity, and the seeds you spent all winter long planting and prooning over finally begin to sprout and blossom. A couple of new opportunities came in yesterday and I can’t seem to get one project completed before I am offered the next. Taking Bobby’s advice and not biting off more than I can pen has been my main strategy. Doing so has propelled me into an area of life where balance is key. And being a balanced person is harder than it looks! It’s human nature to gravitate to what makes us feel the best, and while there are other elements around requiring just as much attention, our fondness for that favorite thing keeps us walking on a skewed and unequal path. I admit, I’m a riding crusader for having balance in life despite my not so great gift of being incredibly good at it. Simply because it’s easier said than done.

My search for literary help led me to the bookstore not too long ago. There I found a cool little cheat book to help facilitate good balance in life and understanding where you want to go and be. It’s based on the principal of creating revolving Life Lists. Like a master list of things you want to do with your life. If you looked up list maker in the dictionary, my name would be next to it so excuse me if I’m overly excited about a book about lists, lol. The book offers insight into goals you probably have never thought of but could certainly use in a particular area of your life. Here’s an excerpt from ‘Dream It. List It. Do It!’ by Lia Steakley and 43Things.com.

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Remember your third grade self? The one thing you really had going for you was unrestricted imagination. When people asked (and they often did), “What do you want to be when you grow up?” you had a ready answer. Sometimes more than one. Back then, your response could change daily-and wildly-from veterinarian to talk show host to astronaut. There were no limits to your imagined future or to the many thing you could be and do.

Somewhere along the line, the focus of our dreams down shifts from what’s imaginable to what’s attainable – from what’s fun to what’s practical, from what’s risky to what’s responsible. Ambitions of playing in the NFL are dulled by playing (and losing) intramural college games, the desire to learn how to fly never gets off the ground, and aspirations to become a painter are put on hold for a job that pays. Life goes on, but not necessarily in the direction you had hoped. Or it goes on so predictably that you forget what it was like to imagine the unimaginable for yourself. You forget how to dream….

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Forgetting how to dream is a dangerous place to be. Without imagination we can’t be balanced individuals ready to live out our lives as intended. This book will get your dream juices flowing again, or perhaps give that little push you need to keep dreaming in the right direction. With sections ranging from Living in the Moment to Having Faith, there are hundreds of Life List topics to suit you in your current stage in life. If you haven’t created your own personal list then…do it!

-black girl.