Dreaming in HD
As children, we dreamt in high definition (HD). The sky was very blue, the clouds were very white and very tufty; the idea of being an astronaut was so accessible, outer space was just a ship away; no need to bother about the logistics. Words like 'President', 'Doctor', 'Lawyer', 'Engineer', 'Actor', 'Dancer', rolled off our tongues like butter whenever people asked about our future ambitions.
As we slept, our dreams came alive vividly- the delight, the adventure-as we ran and played in dreamland, the excitement burst into reality, even, as some of us would often run off our beds still in dream-mode and into the door! Identify yourselves! Lol.
When I was much younger I wanted to be a Doctor, Farmer, Librarian and a pixie and not any of the four but all four! The pixie who went to med school, who loved books and planted onions and mangoes. Lol!
There's a quality of wonder in children that we lose as adults, because the big bad world has been thoroughly unfair to us and also because we had to "grow up" and "face reality".
Many people associate being child-like with being deluded, unrealistic or retrogressive, but this scientific study shows that behaving and thinking like a child actually gets your innovation and creative juices flowing. Why? I guess because kids don't think mainstream like adults do. Studies actually show that they spend two-thirds of their day dissociated from reality.
And, why would I want to be dissociated from reality, Ike?
Good question.
Because we actually secretly (and apparently) crave dissociation from reality! It's the reason we spend hours on social media, the reason we pay to see Game of Thrones, to see Empire, to watch like 5 versions of Superman or Batman! (If they make another, I'm going to scream!) Escapes from reality are what concepts like TV shows and social media are based on. For that hour, I'm no longer 'Ike with the endless to-do list, instead, I'm a proud reality-escapee. Escapes from reality are valuable to us and apparently kids are pros at it. Kids think creatively and innovatively because their minds are wide open and their imagination is off-the-cliff.
Don't despair, I don't believe our wide-eyed child-wonder is gone forever as adults, I think it's just buried beneath a lot of adult emotions and rational soot.
Dust off your adult soot and don't let it shade your high-def dreams and don't ever stop dreaming! Do something that unleashes your inner child and let your creative juices run free!
I think I'm going to see "The Secret Life of Pets"!
I watched the magic school bus recently and my adult brain said, "It can't be healthy that these people shrink at will and get enlarged again." Then I thought, "If my kid was in that school, we sure would be looking for another school soon." Lol! That's the adult brain for you, right there.
What did you want to be when you were a child? Have you ever tried having a rational conversation with a child? How far did you get with that? Lol! Have you written your dreams out on paper yet? Hope it's all HD!
6 Things (plus 1) to do with Your Wedding Dress
What do brides do with their wedding dresses after the wedding? Umm...nothing, well for me, nothing. For some reason I am very attached to my dress *looking at it lovingly*! Bah! I'm going to sell it. No...I won't. This deliberation has been on for quite some time now- to sell or not to sell. Sometime ago, I got the opportunity to work with David Bragdon, a style photographer who happens to be my neighbor! He was graceful enough to have my wedding dress photographed just in case I chose to sell it (the big S word). However, before I make any hasty decisions, I've decided to explore all other options available! Hopefully at the end of this post, I'll come to the most likely decision. Your ideas are completely welcome, (see #7)!
Here are 7 things to do with your wedding dress:
1. Pass it down to your daughter
My mum passed down her 35+ year old wedding dress to my sister who took bits of it and incorporated it into her wedding veil! It was so adorable!
2. Save it for your 'Renewal of Vows' ceremony
If ever you choose to renew your vows at 5, 10, 15 or 50 years (or never...also an option), wouldn't it be great to be able to actually fit into your wedding dress still! A-ha, that's a challenge. Psst, I couldn't fit into my dress when I tried it on for this shoot! Don't be like me! Be forever fit!
3. Sell it (sniff)
This is the most likely option because I feel like my dress is really just occupying space and also I don't like things wasting away when they could be benefiting someone else. As you can tell, I'm a huge recycler, well most of the time.
4. Donate it to charity
While I was asking for opinions about what to do with my dress, a friend casually said with a flick of her wrist and a toss of her hair, "Donate it. I donated mine to charity." She might as well have told me to jump off the 8th floor. I forgive her. I do.
I'm attached to the dress, I don't know if it's because it took me ages to find or because I'm just a drama queen. Maybe a little of both. I don't think I'm donating either way.
5. Rent it out
Renting is a great idea because it brings in cash but you have to be prepared to dryclean it after every transaction. Not to mention have it repaired everytime it rips. *Pausing and thinking this through*
Like I'd have to give it out and then have it returned to me smelling like someone else. What if someone else does stuff in it. *Pensive*
No, I can't. I can't deal.
6. Convert parts of it into household linen
Scream!!! How could you even suggest that, Ike?! Lol. This clearly takes guts. If I ever tried to cut up my wedding dress, I'd be stuck standing there with a pair of scissors until Jesus comes and pries it out of my hands. I don't think I could. *goosebumps*
7. Please comment below for the best answer(s) for #7
What did you do with your wedding dress? What do you suggest I do with mine?! The first three answers will be alloted point 7(a), (b) and (c)!
Related posts: Why your wedding day is not the happiest day of your life; The one that got away; Your wedding dress shopping check list!
4 Things To Do When You Don't Have WiFi
Have you ever been somewhere without WiFi and you've been forced to stare into thin air or at the springy tendrils of a stranger's nose hair? If you haven't, good for you. This is about to be the situation of my day on this wonderful, sunny Friday and I have come prepared with 4 things you and I could get around doing, during that situation that gravely threatens human survival- the moment you have no wifi!
Here are 4 things to do:
1. Empty your e-mail box
Argh! So no WiFi, huh? Don't despair, there's always a sunny side to everything. It's time to finally open those 6,547 emails that you have ignored all this while! No Wifi means more free time to organize. [Why do I feel you don't think that's sunny?]
2. Finish that book you've been reading since the year before
We all have that one book that stares at us from our night stand or that sighs every time we take it out and instead of reading it, spend all our time on our phones. Read it! [Note to self]. I still don't know if Evie ends up with handsome, melancholy heir Robert McAndrew in Hester Browne's Vintage girl. And I haven't known since I started reading it last year. Lol.
3. Talk about the weather
Slowly but surely, talking about the weather and every other form of necessary, unnecessary subject of small talk is slowly disappearing from our social culture, with everyone hunched, poking and giggling at their screens. Myself, most of all. I miss talking to strangers! Ed and I spoke to a stranger recently and he turned out to be an awesome photographer. He took a "family portrait" of us on the street! Check it out on my Instagram page!
Taking a break from screen time provides opportunities to connect with real people and what's cooler than that?
4. Restore the ancient hobby of people-watching
People-watching is really fun, as long as you don't witness a murder while watching and then have to be on the run. If you think about it, we spend a lot of time on social media "watching" other people. Well, people-watching is like Snapchat without the filters and time-constraints! Also, if you are a creative writer, you and I know that watching people is a great creative trigger.
Another sunny side to not having WiFi is that your battery lasts. *shrug* That's got to count, right?
Hey, do you have any ideas for me? Help! Do you do any of these already?