Permission Granted

A dream rarely arrives shouting.
More often, it whispers.
Nature simply gives us the quiet to hear it.
~Robin Rosenstiel

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Fall is in the air.  The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are getting cooler, and the school bus has started to drive by my house daily.  For me, Fall is the season of reflection around my dreams.  

The dreams I have pursued.
The dreams I have accomplished.
And perhaps even more importantly, the dreams I once had but somehow set aside.
It made me wonder...

When did we become so afraid to dream?

As children, dreaming seems to come naturally. We imagine. We pretend. We believe that anything might be possible.
Then somewhere along the way, the questions begin.

• Is that realistic?
• What will people think?
• Are you qualified?
• Can you really do that?
• Shouldn't you be doing something more practical?

And slowly, often without even realizing it...

We begin to let other people write the story of our lives.

We listen to what we should do.
What we ought to do.
What is expected of us.
Until one day, we may find ourselves wondering...

What happened to the dream I once had for myself?

For me, nature has played an unexpected role in helping me reconnect with my dreams. And looking back, I realize something important.

Nature didn't give me my dreams. It gave me the space and the courage to listen to them.

When I spend time in nature, something shifts.
The noise begins to quiet.
There are fewer voices telling me what I should be doing. Fewer distractions competing for my attention. Fewer reasons why an idea won't work.

And in that quiet, I begin to notice things...

• A curiosity.
• A nudge.
• A little
• A whisper that says,

Some of those whispers have led me down paths I never could have predicted.
To create nature sound baths.
To create a card deck.
To write a book.

None of those dreams arrived with a detailed map or a guarantee that I would know exactly what I was doing. They began as small ideas.
A spark.
A curiosity.
A whisper.
And I had a choice.
I could dismiss them.
Or I could get curious and see where they wanted to lead.

Nature doesn't demand that you know the entire path.

One of the things I love about nature is that it reminds me that life is always unfolding.

A seed doesn't need to know exactly how tall it will grow.

A river doesn't stand at its beginning demanding to see every turn before it begins to flow.

A path through the woods doesn't always reveal where it is leading until you are willing to walk far enough to see what is around the next bend.

Perhaps our dreams are a little like that.
We often think we need to know the entire plan before we begin.
Where will this lead?
Will it work?
What if I fail?
What if I change my mind?
But maybe those aren't the questions we need to answer first.
Maybe the first question is much simpler...

What is whispering to you right now?

What idea keeps coming back?
What possibility makes you feel just a little more alive?
What would you explore if you didn't have to know where it would lead?
Because you don't have to know exactly where the dream will take you.

You simply have to be willing to listen when it whispers.

This week, I invite you to try a Nature Dreaming experiment. Details below.

Giving you permission to dream,
Robin

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ORACLE CARD OF THE WEEK

Did this experiment spark your imagination? Make you curious? What parts inspired you?  What parts scared you?  Nature helps us wake up to what we already know or what we're ready to discover.

Join me at my upcoming workshop The Art of Nature Wisdom where you will learn how to connect deeper to nature and your dreams.

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MAGICAL EVENT

Does your life feel predictable, routine, and a little too ordinary?

Do you crave inspiration, creativity, and possibility a little magic?

Join me for an in-person retreat to reconnect with nature and learn to see the wisdom, inspiration, and possibility hiding in the world around you.

Learn More & Register