“I have an idea.” This is my favorite phrase. I say it most days and I love to hear it almost as much as I enjoy saying it. In my life, ideas are a fixture. They form who I am and how I live. They impact those around me and give us all something to look forward to, something to dream about.
I am an Idea Addict.
One of the problems I have, however, is that I have so many ideas. I cannot possibly do all of the things I dream about. It is a serious struggle.
I will often record my ideas physically or digitally, while I ruminate on whether or not they should actually be pursued. In the meantime, these piles stack up…in my home, my work, digitally and in my mind. I want to do them all, but cannot.
So I collect dreams, visions, fantasies, thoughts, imaginations, images and plans. I store them up and hope one day I will be able to act on them. My ideas attach to my heart and mind. They keep me going when life gets too real. I can escape to my fantasy world to the illusion of reality inside an idea bubble.
The delusion of my reality soon comes to a halt as life happens. My great ideas seem to pile up and lose any possibility of becoming something real, helpful and useful. Other piles of responsibility take priority. Work and home seem to collide as enemies. Financial responsibilities, career aspirations and health hopes (diet desires, exercise expectations) scream out for priority consideration. My ideas limp away.
Relationships are important. Many wrestle for my attention. Some are healthy. Some are not. Most are just there, piling up. I love people. How do I love all of them well? As this thought overpowers me, my ideas waste away.
Being an Idea Addict, I thoroughly enjoy learning. While I do not love to read, when it is something amazing, I cannot stop. Information fuels my idea habit. So I collect ideas in the form of books, blog posts, articles, resources, conference notes, podcasts and audiobooks. They are precious to me. I imagine actually going through each of them one day and using them to change the world, or at least my world or someone I care about, their world. These collections rise and multiply.
Besides my books, oh so many books, most of these gatherings of information are digital, so I do not really even know how much I have. Until I run across them and they remind me of the work ahead of me to sift and consume all of them. One day I will go through them though and come up with the big idea. One day, all of this information collecting will save the day, make a difference and really help me…people…me. Managing these mountains of information overwhelms me, though. My grand ideas shrink away.
I wonder if anyone else feels like I do? Do you struggle to maintain all of the different areas of your life? Do you want to actually do something with all your ideas? Are other things, people and plans getting in your way too?
2 Comments
Jean Kimble
I’m an idea addict when it comes to art: SO many things to try, so little time… I’ve ALWAYS wanted to try learning how to blow glass, and make something, even just a simple vase! I used to carve plaster of Paris relief sculptures and ivory jewelry in high school. I love the challenge of carving in 3-D. I want to carve a soapstone figure. I want to carve a wooden horse. My dad was a sign painter, and used to letter gold leaf signs. I have boxes and boxes of gold leaf, and want to learn how to gild, so when I carve my horse, I can gild it. Wow, wouldn’t that be pretty?! I’d love to try painting with glazes because they capture such a luminous, 3-D quality in skys. The sky’s the limit there! Learning how to do acrylic pour painting would be fun, but just for fun. I’ve never painted a waterfall before…gotta learn how to do that! Then, there are unfinished sewing projects, unrealized baking goals, the list goes on and on. I will probably never do the carving, the gilding, the glazing, the acrylic pours or the glass blowing. I’ve resigned myself to that, but still dream of them. I get too consumed with the daily grind of things I HAVE to do around the house, then the things that I need to do for art and business. Seems there’s never enough time or energy for anything else. Good thing I really love what I Do do! Oh, I DID write and illustrate a book! Something I’ve wanted to do since high school. Maybe I’ll carve that horse…!
adamsuter
Thanks for the comment Jean. You are definitely an Idea Addict! Love your book. So glad you made that happen. Looking forward to the other things you do. Have a great day.