What it means to breathe, dream, go
moi at the Taj Mahal
What it means to breathe, dream, go
Recently on Twitter, someone used the name of this blog as a compound verb: “Send/follow Christina to breathe, dream, and go all over New Zealand with @EntirelyKiwi!” I was credited (thanks EntirelyKiwi!) and very flattered.
It got me thinking that perhaps I should explain the name and present it as a motivating formula for others. So here goes. Read on for the story and for your chance to provide motivation and inspiration to others …
Anatomy of a name
I came up for the name of this blog — BreatheDreamGo — in a flash. It was one of those rare moments when an idea hits like a thunderbolt. In fact, it was an epiphany.
In June 2009, I was about halfway through attending a four-day conference for writers, editors, authors and magazine publishers and I was feeling very demoralized and discouraged. The traditional media was shrinking, writers were struggling, editors seemed to have all the power, publishers seemed to be devaluing the written word … I came home after the second day feeling very low. I was wondering if I would ever be able to achieve my dream of being a full-time writer / travel writer in this economic climate.
The next morning, I didn’t even want to go back to the conference. I was in the shower, when I suddenly got the idea of starting my own blog, online magazine and/or community. And the name came to me instantly. I turned it over in my mind and realized that it perfectly summed up my experience.
If not now, when?
moi, yoga pose, Jodhpur
Several years ago, after a series of devastating losses, I fell into a deep depression and yoga got me out of it. I literally “breathed” my way back to health. Then I started “dreaming” about what I wanted to do. I had recently lost both my parents (one to heart disease, the other to cancer), and I felt time was of the essence. If I didn’t start living my dreams now, I never would. My first dream was to do a yoga teacher training course; my second dream was to go to India for six months; and my third dream was to (finally) become a writer.
Breathing and Dreaming gave me the motivation to Go. I went. Traveling in India for six months re-ignited my enthusiasm for life, inspired me to become the writer I always wanted to be, gave me a passion and a purpose — to share the beauty of India’s culture and wisdom — and even gave me a new family and a new home. It was the best thing I have ever done.
So, breathe, dream, go is a summary of my experience — but it’s also a formula. If you are feeling stuck, if you want more from your life, if you feel you haven’t achieved your potential or met your destiny … try it. It doesn’t have to be yoga and a trip to India. Maybe for you it will be running and art classes. Or hiking and overseas volunteering. Or therapy and learning Spanish. Whatever it is that gets you breathing, gets your heart pumping and motivates you to “follow your bliss.”
What about you?
Please submit a comment and let others know how you got going. You never know who you might inspire.
Sarah
Janice
Ellen Wilkes Irmisch
Mike Keenan
I am happy to have found this blog and looking forward to each post of yours.
Well said, Mariellen.
I share a commonality with you in that I also lost my parents at an early age. Particularly my mother, who I lost when I was only 13. She died from cancer and it made me realize (once I had matured a bit) how short and precious life can be.
My parents had always been saving for “rainy day.” Well … it never rained on my mother. She died before she and my father could enjoy any of the dollars they had been saving.
So I vowed from any early age that I would live every day as though it might be my last and that has brought me great pleasure and enabled me to do much more than some of my friends, family and colleagues — who “plan” and never “do.”
an excellent effort to share which can full a person with positivity & creativity as well. I am an Indian So i feel pride when someone praise.
Hey Mariellen,
I guess you should copyright ‘Breathe Dream Go’. It sounds a great tag-line for a travel company.
Cheers
Very touching.
Realisations usually come in a flash, and many times at the shower – there must be some magic in just letting go the body under falling water.
I am a travel writer too – freelance.
Hello Mariellen – it was lovely to meet you at the TMAC Munch and Mingle a few weeks ago. I was so intrigued by ‘Breathe Dream Go’ and have been thoroughly enjoying your blog. It’s very easy to catch the spirit through what you write about your travels. I will continue reading – thanks very much and I hope to catch up with you at another event!
Jacqueline
Kingston, Ontario
I am glad to have read this post, Mariellen. Instead of sitting around stewing “if only I could…”
You just went out and did it. Bravo!