Here, next to my computer, is a line I cut from a magazine quite a few years ago now…

your dreams miss you.

It is a reminder to me, to attend to the things that are important to me. To do that requires making an effort to keep my dreams in the forefront of my mind. (the penguin and the turtle are keeping guard… Don’t judge!!)

In a recent issue of the Philosopher’s Mail, I read an article that reinforced my feelings about the value of this lifetime habit. The title was ‘The Importance of Staring Out the Window’.

There is something so relaxing and rejuvenating about daydreaming… that’s really what we are talking about. What a luxury, in this very busy world, to be able to put one’s life on ‘hold’ for a few moments, or an afternoon, and just let thoughts and dreams bubble to the surface.

At about the same time I read the above article, there came a lovely, thoughtful comment and quotation, from my blog friend, Joanna:

And I am walking out into all of this with nowhere to go and no task undertaken but to turn the pages of this beautiful world over and over, in the world of my mind. –Mary Oliver

Pure serenity and inspiration.

Shouldn’t our dreams really be at the centre of our Life experience? Fortunately, I realised years ago that is what I do on my morning walks. The walks are as much about turning the world over and over in my mind, as they are about exercising my body. Once I realized that, I pursued the walks with renewed purpose and enthusiasm. It is MY time. It feels to me like a moving meditation. Many ideas for photos, blog posts or paintings come to me in those times. I feel connected to something bigger than myself.

Nature reveals itself in startling glory, dappled light, stunning creatures, golden hours, and my little worries are reduced to tiny fractals of memory.

Our minds whir and gurgle away all the time. Staring out the window is like the little whirring icon on my computer—processing, processing, presto! Information stored for future consumption… or discarded as no longer required.

I stare out my kitchen window often. A new bud, a drop of dew or a feint ray of light inspire. Sometimes I even act on it! You would have seen this photo small, in the mosaic of other photos in a previous post a few weeks ago. You wouldn’t have realised it was taken in our courtyard, though, and is a favourite object of daydreams from my kitchen window. The gentle morning light and soft dreaminess revealed themselves in a rare image that equals (or nearly) Mother Nature. Have a lovely daydream, wherever you are.