A dream deferred can dry up like a raisin in the sun

While sitting in a congested stupor I come across a video on FB of Denzel Washington saying to group of aspiring artists, "That itch, that desire for good is God's proof to you sent already to indicate that it's yours." And then I listened to more, "Dreams without goals remain dreams and ultimately fuel disappointment."

When was the last time any of you have developed and followed up on your goals? I literally have daily, monthly, hourly, yearly, and at time minute by minute ones. My list includes learning new music that stretches and challenges my vocal range, seeking and memorizing monologues that allow me to breathe life into the words of a character. Many of these goals have been checked off and they are quickly replaced with new ones because my dreams are amazing, and they take equally amazing goals to make them a reality.

Unfortunately, we exist in a society where many of us are handicapped by fear. Fear keeps your dreams separate from goals. Fear makes excuses and finds blame outside of yourself when they do not manifest. "If I had started earlier I would have had that already." "I will sign up for voice lessons tomorrow" "I will start juicing and working out once it gets warm" The best one yet, "I have children now and cannot make goals that do not always include them."  Well, I believe that my daughter has benefitted and continues to benefit from watching me connect goals to dreams without trepidation. Now fear does visit at times, but it simply reminds me that I am human and that whatever I am going after will not be easy to attain. Nothing worth anything comes easy.

I turn the video back on and hear Mr. Washington say, "Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY. Dreams without goals remain dreams and ultimately fuel disappointment." It is exhausting to be apart of someone's pity party. You know that person who just cannot simply get past GO. And the one thing they never try is to simply stop going after their dreams in the same way without being open to something entirely new. You cannot play it safe when you are going after something brand new. I mean, it is new. How the hell do you know what 'new' looks or feels like until you are immersed in it?! So you will never know what "better" looks and feels like until you leap into the deep water without a life jacket and simply experience it for the first time. And it takes DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY to walk that road. And not everyone is equipped.

So I am going to take some sinus medicine and drink some more ginger root tea, and then re-check on my dreams and make sure that they are firmly connected to goals. I will check on my level of discipline and consistency and continue to walk this path. I will watch as my daughter realizes her dreams of publishing her first book because this way of thinking is a family thing. And my ongoing Confession as a Single Parent Actress is that I live my life fearlessly and without regrets because that is how I check my fears and those dream killers at the door.