May 2014 IWSG - a life half-lived

This was supposed to be a blog post about insecure writers finding their courage. (And I know this is early, but I didn't want to wait.) So first, I was going to share quotes about courage. And then I was going to give quotes about fear, but that made me think of a quote from one of my favorite movies, Strictly Ballroom. And that led to an evolving blog post (kind of like my novel, but not nearly as many times).

Strictly Ballroom is a quirky Australian film from 1992. (Major spoilers here--) Scott Hastings is the “crown prince” of the local ballroom dancing community. His parents are the king and queen. They’ve been training Scott, from the age of six, to win the Australian Pan-Pacific Gran Prix Amateur Latin Dance Championship. This year, everyone believes “it’s Scott's turn to win.”

Scott has always followed the rules to win, but something inside him wants to dance his own steps. Unfortunately, the local ballroom dancing world is controlled by a few who say you won’t win if you dance your own steps. Scott is determined to buck the system—until his long-time partner refuses to dance his new steps and leaves him for another dancer.

Along comes Fran, an ugly duckling, Cinderella, beginning dancer. She’s been taking lessons in the same studio where Scott trains. But she also does the grunt work—cleaning the coffee cups, mopping up, etc. No one notices her. Everyone steps on her. Scott looks down on her because she’s been “dancing with girls.”

One night while Scott is practicing his steps, Fran watches him. When Scott catches her and asks who she is, she won’t even give her full name. She’s “just Fran.” She knows she’s invisible. But she also has the guts to approach him about an idea she’s had. She offers to help him win the Latin dance championship, dancing his own steps.

She offers to be his partner.

The following dialogue ensues:

Scott: Look, a beginner has no right to approach an Open Amateur.

Fran: Yeah, well an Open Amateur has no right to dance non-Federation steps, but you did, didn't you?

Scott: But that's different.

Fran: *How* is it different? You're just like the rest of them! You think you're different, but you're not, because you're just, you're just really scared! You're really scared to give someone new a go, because you think, you know, they might just be better than you are! Well, you're just pathetic, and you're gutless. You're a gutless wonder! Vivir con miedo, es como vivir a medias!

Translated, the last lines means “A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.”

While Scott’s mother works to find him a new partner in time for the competition, Scott agrees to train Fran. He’s reluctant at first. Dancing with her is like a chore. But he keeps at it. As time goes on, Fran starts to change. When Scott meets Fran’s Hispanic family (from the other side of the railroad tracks), he starts to change. They teach him about dancing from the heart. Not living in fear is the family motto.

I won’t give away the rest of the movie, but let’s just say that by the end, Scott and Fran are different. And so are a few other people.

None of them would have changed if Fran hadn’t had the courage to follow her dream.

I was going to give some catchy wrap-up here, but I don’t think I need to. Maybe all I need to say is:

and if you need more encouragement, there are a lot of great posts at the IWSG website.  (plus, i just found a fountain of more great quotes along this line at Optimism Revolution.)

Insecure Writers Support Group - keep your dreams alive

I am privileged, on this IWSG Wednesday, to share a blog post by my sweet friend February Grace (and to help her promote her newest book, Of Stardust). When she asked what she could blog about, I suggested the subject of dreams. Her response was inspiring for me. I hope it is for you too.

(For more inspiring IWSG posts, visit the new IWSG website.)

“Dreams are sacred.”

That is the tagline, and the heart, of my new novel OF STARDUST.

It was inspired by a very deeply held belief that I have in the importance of dreams. 

Dreams are the thing that keep us going—looking ahead, thinking to a possible, better future—when things are really tough.

Whether we're suffering through illness or hard times or any other trial, the capacity to dream can give us strength and the ability to keep on fighting. I don’t want to think where I would be now without dreams that I’ve had in the past which have luckily come true (including the publication of this novel!) and I don’t want to think what shape I’d be in tomorrow if I gave up on as yet unrealized dreams I still hold dear to my heart.

Even if you have to fight for your dreams— and if you’re writer that often means struggling to find time to write between family obligations and day jobs and all of that— I encourage you wholeheartedly to hang on to that dream. Keep it alive even if you only write a few words a day.

If your dream is to one day walk in a charity marathon, get your doctor’s okay and then walk around the block. Then walk two blocks. Keep adding on.

If you’ve always wanted to learn to cook a gourmet meal, find a good cookbook, gather the ingredients, and give it a try.

Always appreciate those who support your dreams, for it is having friends and family there when a dream comes true that makes it really worth celebrating!

Finally, if your dream is just to live a calm, simple and happy life, then I urge you most of all to keep fighting for that goal. Happiness is the ultimate dream come true, and it means something different to every single being on the planet. Dream of what will make you happy, take any steps small or large you can every day in the direction of that happiness, and hold on to those dreams no matter how it seems they might never come true.

Dreams embody hope itself, and hope is the key to continuing on in the journey to create your happiest life.

Thank you to my dear friend, Michelle, for hosting me today. I leave you now with an excerpt from OF STARDUST…and the hope that you will keep your dreams alive!

~bru

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Till stood alone in the middle of the library. It hadn’t taken long for her to thank those who had assembled around her for their support. She told them as well that she needed a little time on her own to try to make sense of everything.

So they left her in peace, with the promise that all she had to do was to wish one of them present, no matter the hour, and they would appear to give her a helping hand.

She made herself some tea — the old-fashioned way — and ate the last of the now-stale cookies her mother had sent with her days before... days that seemed a lifetime away from the life she knew now.

A Fairy Godmother.

She still tried to fathom that this could possibly be true, despite the evidence she’d seen the past several days that defied any other explanation.

She sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and held the special book she’d been given. Now, in the daylight, she could truly scrutinize the cover. It was black leather, with symbols of the moon and stars emblazoned upon it. She used her ring to unlock it again. To her surprise, where the first page had been blank before, it now contained script of some kind that she could not decipher. It had a symbol drawn around it and reminded her of an ancient coat of arms. I wonder what this means...

“Says Dreams Are Sacred,” Gus’s gentle voice answered, as his head poked in the doorway. “It’s our motto, ye might say. The Fairy Godparents’ creed.”

“Ah.” Till wondered how he’d appeared out of nowhere. She didn’t recall wishing for him to do so.

“I thought ye might be hungry, so I brought some breakfast.”

“Conjured up out of nothing?” she asked.

“No. This time I used the drive-thru.”

-----

February Grace is a writer, artist, poet, and dreamer from Southeastern Michigan. She loves music and is also obsessed with clocks, colors, and meteor showers. OF STARDUST is her second novel.

Find her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FebruaryGrace

And Twitter @FebruaryGrace

And elsewhere online at www.februarywriter.blogspot.com

A-Z - dreams

of all the quotes here, the first one is my favorite. you might call it my life quote. i first found it in the John Eldredge book Waking the Dead. (no, this isn't a plug for the book, but if you're interested, i've included a link). i'm discovering that as i live out my dream to write, the people around me are finding the courage to live their dreams as well.

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman

If you don't follow your dreams Thomas, you might as well be a vegetable. ~ from the movie The World's Fastest Indian

The dream you don’t fight for will haunt you for the rest of your life. ~ from the movie Robots

It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else. ~ Erma Bombeck


There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, “Yes, I’ve got dreams, of course I’ve got dreams.” Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep, they’re still there. ~ Erma Bombeck


When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.” ~ Erma Bombeck


Dreams are necessary to life ~ Anais Nin


Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?" ~ George Bernard Shaw


Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. ~ Goethe


Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. ~ Teddy Roosevelt

an extra little something

today is the first day off from the A-Z challenge, but i was perusing the A-Z blog list today and found this little gem at Corinne O'Flynn's blog in a post called "B for Believers". it fits right in with my theme of quotes.

Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. ~Harriet Tubman

sharing some favorite quotes

i love quotes, especially quotes about writing, dreaming, coming alive. i haven't shared any in quite some time. since i have so many new followers, i thought it was time.

today i thought i'd post some about dreams, and i'm starting with the quote that keeps me going when i'm not sure i'm supposed to be writing:

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Howard Thurman

when i write, i come alive, and when i come alive, the people around me come alive.

The dream you don’t fight for will haunt you for the rest of your life. ~ from the movie Robots

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat. ~ Teddy Roosevelt

There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, “Yes, I’ve got dreams, of course I’ve got dreams.” Then they put the box away and bring it out once in awhile to look in it, and yep, they’re still there. ~ Erma Bombeck

for more collected quotes on dreams, you can go to my website: Michelle D. Gregory: Dreams.