Building Castles in the Air

Ever heard the expression building castles in the air? Normally, it means that you're daydreaming about something wonderful that will never come true. Daydreams are, after all, a distraction to the reality in which we live—aren't they? You tell me. If we could never dream of a better life, would we work towards our future? Perhaps there is a great benefit to building castles in our minds.

Psychiatrists will have varying opinions, and don't even delve into what Freud would say. I have my own opinion of Freud. Most contemporary psychiatrists would probably tell you that daydreaming can be helpful for alleviating stress and awakening the creative side of your mind. Many people who are engaged in writing, painting, building, any kind of project creation, may first begin with a daydream of what that finished project can be. Then let it percolate. In the meantime, decompress.

 

Here is my suggestion to help with that process. Do something you haven’t done since you were a child. Lie down in the grass in your front yard and look at the sky. Is there a stream or river/lake nearby? Go to it and roll up your pant legs. Wade and splash in the water. Get wet! Pack a simple lunch and go outside somewhere isolated with a person you care about. One of the best lunches I ever had was on a motorcycle ride when we stopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway and ate on the side of the road in a grassy spot. The lunch was cheese, canned sardines on crackers with mustard and wine. Yes, I know it sounds weird, but it tasted great!

 

After you decompress, you will be able to create so much more. Additionally, you’ll feel more alive, or alive again and love life more.

One of my poems about Vision in my one of my inspirational releases, The Light Within, tells you that you can follow the trodden path of the daily grind or you can dream of those castles and set out to make them true:

Be true to your muse, and never let doubt,
Keep you trapped in and not acting it out.
Life is too short not to love what you do,
Chart your own course and sail it on through.

I personally feel like soaring through the sky is far more rewarding than sinking deep into a rut. Don’t you?

 

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Bobbye Terry is an award-winning author of more than two dozen novels in the mystery/suspense, fantasy and dystopian fiction genres and five inspirational books in nonfiction. She also writes as Daryn Cross. Her latest novel is Nothing Ever Happens in Briny Bay and her most recent nonfiction release is In the Stillness. She looks up at the stars and wades in the water often,