If Your Success Was Guaranteed, Provided You Didn't Quit, What Would You Do?
By: Susan Deborah Schiller
Would you write that book? Travel to your dream destination? Where would you live? What occupation would you be involved in? Which friends would you surround yourself with?
What did you dream about as a young child, or as a baby? Did you ever imagine yourself to be a king or a queen, a rock star or movie star, superman or superwoman, an astronaut or a firefighter?
Young people have "Dream Circles" with themselves in the center… and all these projects and destinations planned for different stages of their lives. Then we grow up and the world convinces us to exchange our Dream Circle for an Income Circle. We tell ourselves it's okay to buy cable television and not the air ticket, it's all right to work 2-3 jobs instead of painting or writing a book, and maybe when the kids are grown we can get the education to do what we are passionate about instead of working for a pay check.
Does that sound like you or your next door neighbor? I know it's been me, most of my life.
Statistics show that currently 95% of Americans will hit age 65 either dead or dead broke. We gave up the dream circle, but for what?
Just ask a nearby kindergarten child what they are dreaming of…
Are they dreaming of being dead or dead broke? Are they thinking about anti-depressants and anxiety or pain prescriptions? Do they look as though they are worrying about the economy or paying bills? I know many children in the world have had to grow up quickly and are little adults by the time they are age 3 or 4… but I'm talking about children the way it's supposed to be… and there are some left!
Are you thinking like a child?
There's only one way to access the Kingdom of Heaven – that place where "all things are possible" and it's through faith, the childlike faith we were all born with. That "I can do" attitude that gives us the equivalent of a college education by the time we reach age 4!
Where did our childlike faith go?
If you're like me, you adopted the mindset of your parents (we're not blaming our parents, because they got it from their mothers and fathers!) and the institutions of education and faith that supported a fear-based and shame-based mindset. To control large groups of people, leading by shame and fear is absolutely necessary. It's so much a part of our society that most of us have some serious unlearning to do!
Thinking it was the right thing to do, I taught my children God's Word – we even memorized huge portions of it! (I have no regrets about that) and even went on to become a Sunday School teacher, Children's Church director, and Youth Pastor… but we didn't live it! The truth was so incompatible with our mindsets… like trying to download PC software into a Mac computer!
I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't figure it out!
If I had known, I would have spent more time just "being" with the kids! Just laying down on the floor and "being" in God's presence. Now, I do that a lot – and the other day my 6-year old granddaughter grabbed a pillow and blanket and told me, "Grandma, you lay down and I'm going to sing to you." Making me comfortable and warm, she began to rub my back and from her heart burst forth this simple childlike melody. The words were right from God's heart…
Watcha Gonna Do in the Morning? (Danielle's title)
"I wake up in the morning,
I see the trees and sky.
I go outside.
I see the birds and the butterflies,
I say a little prayer for someone.
Then I do something for someone.
Our brains are for thinking about God.
Then we say a little prayer for someone.
We do something for someone."
I could have taught Danielle these Scripture verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:17; James 1:27; Philippians 4:4 and many more… but instead the same Truth flowed from her heart with the simplicity of Heaven. It's a wisdom only the childlike can comprehend.
(By the way, the photo is a downloaded copy of a painting I purchased from Akiane – a child prodigy and one of the top 20 artists world-wide. My home is filled with Akiane's paintings, by the way, because her simple childlike vision of Heaven is powerful!)
I believe we're living in a day and age when the children will be leading us. Children and youth are already questioning our teaching and ways of doing things. The vast majority leave our homes, churches, and schools and do not return!
I believe we're moving into a new age where our Dream Circles will DICTATE our Income Circles, instead of the other way around! We must, or we leave the next generation at risk!
As together we write our life stories, we are challenging each other with these questions. We're intentionally creating an environment – a culture – where we're creating a living legacy…. in some cases, a whole new family legacy! If it's broken, why pass it on to the next generation?
Danielle Bednarcik and Olive
Let's give voice to the next generation – they are wise beyond their years, these days. If we can humble ourselves and really listen to our children's hearts – and to their friends, too… and learn from them, even as they are learning from us. We can heal whole families and watch our community's change, too!
All my love,
Sue
PS I'm just beginning this project, but if you are interested in reading more Dream Parables, these are the night adventures I recorded in my journals for many years, showing some of the behind-the-scenes events that helped me to gain my freedom.
Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor – to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.
Copyright 2012, Susan Schiller, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline and bio, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references. For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Your message in this post is something I've been moving towards for the past few years, even though I didn't realize it until recently. When I was growing up, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to be. Mainly because I thought I had to choose an occupation that I saw someone else doing. I didn't believe that a person could just create a career out of thin air.
If we all stepped back into our dreams circles, as you call it, think of how much more happiness there would be in the world. What beauty would surround us.
When I taught public school, I absolutely hated the way they wanted me to teach. There was no creativity. There was just tests, structure, and order. It was not a teaching environment that I would want for the people I love. A few months before I graduated with my teaching degree, I realized that I didn't want to teach. But I kept at it because everyone else told me I would be a failure if I didn't use the degree.
Now I'm realizing that I would be a failure if I didn't find my true passion. And I'm doing that right now. 🙂
What an amazing story, Keri. You broke away from the herd to chart your own trail – that takes a lot of guts, sweat, and tears. The really inspiring thing, is that you are following your passion right now, in the here and now and it shows in the contagious joy and happiness you have to share with all of us.
I really love your story, Keri – it’s beautiful, like you 🙂
Yes Susan… I believe there is a new “awakening” going on and some of the younger generations are even more in tuned to it. It’s a glorious process how we evolve into whatever our purpose is here. Some times it takes us a long time to understand our purpose, but after we realize and align ourselves with it, we make better choices and live happier lives. It’s all a process… the process of life! I love how you enable people to document their process by saving and sharing their life stories.
Hi Carol … you bring up a great point – that it does take time for us to recognize our purpose, but when we do come into alignment with our purpose, we make the best choices for ourselves and it has that contagious ripple effect all across our sphere of influence. I believe it also causes our message to become more clear, and documenting it helps us to get clarity for ourselves, as well as the next generation. Thanks for sharing – I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts!
Susan, this is so in keeping with the premise of all my work (and of my soon-to-be-birthed book “Money after Menopause”). The steps to reaching financial peace of mind come from (1) getting honest with your money today; (2) clearing out all the mistaken/limiting messaging absorbed from parents and others; and (3) identifying our Life Purpose that’s in keeping with our standards of integrity and our values. I hope you’re right and that today’s youth can avoid absorbing some of the stuff that we just need to clear out later!
What you’re doing is so vital, Sharon… I’m very much looking forward to your book! I have so much hope for the future… and that it begins with these next generations coming up! Thanks for all you’re doing at http://sharonoday.com – it’s excellent!