The Constellation Learning Newsletter
March 2008

For those of you who live in the northeastern areas of North America there’s been ample snow reminding us that winter is nowhere near over. I'm sure the skiers are very happy. And I'm happy for them. Really. And I’ll be even happier for them the last two weeks of March when I’m in Mexico. I’m visiting an old friend who has built her dream home on the Pacific coast. I remember when she gave birth to that dream.

On this once-every-four years "leap year" I’m thinking about others who have leapt forward to follow their dreams…

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~ Monthly Message ~

“Faith is taking the first step even when
you don't see the whole staircase.”

-- Martin Luther King Jr. --

This month I’d like to celebrate the magnificence of the human vision and the depth of courage it takes to follow one’s own vision.

In my work I am blessed to witness both the birth and nurturing of the dreams often given voice during one or more of the programs and workshops I’ve conducted over the years. After so long at it there are increasing opportunities, not unlike being invited to a nephew’s high school graduation, to see dreams that were once mere seedlings grow strong and bear fruit.

A friend and former client has written a beautiful first novel coming out this spring. (Look for more information in announcements below) The entire endeavor took her ten years from idea to completion. As a result of pursuing the dream of becoming a published author she made choices that led her places she would never have visited had she given up—which she clearly wanted to do on numerous occasions.

A couple who attended the Trust Program years ago are packing up their two teenage sons, quitting their well-paid stable jobs, selling their house and all their stuff and traveling the world for a year. It’s something they’ve dreamed of doing for a long time. When asked “what about when you get back?” they reply, “that will unfold. We’ll see what happens along the way.” They thought and talked about it and planned it, but taking that real first big step—telling the boss, your friends, putting the house on the market—still takes fortitude, clarity and courage.

And then there’s my sister and brother-in-law. I’ve written about Jenny before, and I deeply love and respect her husband, which is a nice thing. He, a brilliant political consultant and historian—as well as a drop dead Teddy Roosevelt look-alike—is taking his one-man TR show on the road. He is booked in 48 states. (www.teddyrooseveltshow.com) 

The machinations involved have been myriad and emotionally exhausting. Their home, a country church which they painstakingly renovated over the past 18 years, is still on the market after a year—an additional stressor.

But their RV left Chicago two weeks ago packed to the gills with all the stuff one needs to carry to successful completion an undertaking of this magnitude. They’ll home school their almost 10 year daughter, and their dog—whose name just happens to be Faith—will find her own space in the new cramped quarters.

Faith always does—and not just the dog. Faith squeezes into the cracks of your resolve like a gas: Like oxygen it fuels our focus and steels our commitment.  Someone said, “Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.”

Dreams become real when we step into them and that means adding the active ingredient of trust—taking that first real action step—and it also generally means relinquishing something; it’s a little difficult to grab at your brass ring with your hands full.

My congratulations to those in my life who remind me that following one’s vision—no matter what it is—gives others permission to birth their own.

And to my sister, who I know will read this on the road: you’re a brave, wonderful woman.

Remember to breathe…and to hug Faith.

(For back issues please click here.)

“To me, faith means not worrying.”

-- John Dewey --

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