I love quotes. I have quotes that I find inspiring taped up all over my office, stuck on my bulletin board, and an entire file stuffed full of them, taking up about a quarter of the space of my filing cabinet. The file has gotten so heavy that every time I open the drawer, the weight is enough to make the file cabinet teeter, and almost topple to the floor. This happens every time I open it. I never think to thin out the file. It makes me happy just to peer in and see all those luscious, random pieces of paper with quotes all over them. So much possibility.
The title for this blog is one such quote, and comes from a poem called I Dwell in Possibility by Emily Dickinson:
I dwell in Possibility-
A Fairer house than Prose-
More numerous of Windows-
Superior-for Doors-
Of Chambers of the Cedars-
Impregnable of eye-
And for an everlasting Roof-
The Gambrels of the Sky-
Of Visitors-the fairest-
For Occupation-This-
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise-
When I first read that line, I dwell in possibility, I was captivated, curious, repulsed and irritated all at the same time. The idea called to me… what must it be like to dwell in possibility, instead of fear, uncertainty, anxiety, catastrophic thinking and the like? What must it be like to constantly be thinking about all the things you do want, rather than all the things you don’t? But some part of me would have none of it: Dwell in possibility? For whom? Those who have the means, resources, opportunities and time? Those who aren’t in pain, physical or otherwise? Those who are born into wealth and power and never have to work a day in their life? On and on the inner talking went. I argued with it, denied it, wrestled with it and at times abandoned it. Yet, there the quote sat, taped to the window above my desk. Sometimes I thought it was mocking me. At others, I felt an inner pull to something vast, something greater than myself, and all the possibility therein. It was bigger than my “normal” life. It was bigger than me, and it was much, much bigger than the daily concerns, anxieties and fears that kept scurrying through my consciousness, like a large rat intent to keep feeding on the all the garbage thoughts I could offer. I can not describe it in any other way except to say that, in my most reflective and quiet moments, it felt like a call to all the infinite possibilities that might have been, may yet still be, and the thrilling glimmer of new paths not yet forged, just waiting for me to gather my courage and take the first step. For years this thought kept nudging, kept pushing, despite my objections. It was persistent and, over the course of time, seeped deep into the very foundation of my thinking. It has pushed me and encouraged me to re-envision what I want my life to look like, and how I want to live the rest of my years, however long that may be, on this planet. It has essentially given me the permission to set higher expectations for myself, to dare and to dream, and to not be satisfied with the ordinary, but long for the extraordinary. And the extraordinary looks different for each and every one of us. What does an extraordinary life look like to you? Dwell in the possibility of it. Nurture it, talk to it, ask it to explain itself to you. And then, little by little, follow it. See where it may lead. Take a risk. Wayne Gretzky has been quoted as saying, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. Well, taking those shots means to dwell in possibility. It is living on the other side of fear. It is along the lines of “if you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done”. I think Thomas Jefferson said that. You see. I told you. I love quotes.
The point is what do YOU envision for yourself? What is it YOU want? Because if you can’t get clear about it, dwelling in the potential of what is possible, you will never get there. Thinking about it, gracing yourself the time to dwell in the vision of what you truly want for yourself in this lifetime, without arguing with yourself, without censoring, and without judging, is a gift to yourself and a gift to the world. No one wins living in conformity. In fact everyone, including the entire planet, loses. You were meant to live the highest and best version of yourself, which means honoring what makes you unique, the one special gift only you can give to the world, which is your true self. In the words of a personal champion of mine, Eleanor Roosevelt, “ Do one thing everyday that scares you”, and in the words of another personal champion of mine, Martha Beck: Change your life “one degree turn by one degree turn, just a little bit every day, turning action in the direction of the truest truth that we can find inside ourselves”.
Be brave. Be curious. Be outrageously open, and dwell in possibility.