A coworker shared with me a paperback from Artist/Author Brian Andreas: Story People. At the birth of the first page he writes, "Most of the stuff I say is true because I saw it in a dream and I don't have the presence of mind to make up lies when I'm asleep."
This is why writing, sketching out thoughts, penning out a piece of poetry or doodling a song lyric or phrase everyday is extremely important in all walks of life. Being a self proclaimed author gives you permission to never walk alone.
How can you be when other people's words seep into your skin like an extremely hot Carolina sun leaving you bronzed or completely red from embarrassment?
But I don't know what to write! Boredom instantly sets in when I see my writing hand spell out Dear Diary. I have to be to work by eight, if I write I'll be late, late for a very important date.
Books like this one from Brian entertain the core source of your creative button. Take what he's delivered and react to it like an email: Most of the stuff I say is true because I saw it in a dream and I don't have the presence of mind to make up lies when I'm asleep.
Ask yourself, "Does this mean I should believe more in dreams? What if it's a negative dream?"
Quickly jump to the other side and be that voice you always hear that carries six pounds of doubt in the front pocket, "Dreams are fake! It's the minds way of hitting Control, Alt and Delete on a laptop!"
Just like an email respond, "My dreams are where my mother visits me so why would my mind want to take that away? I see dreams as being a reason to keep listening, to set out on a different journey by visualizing a simple what if and giving it enough hope so it'll shine in the light of yes I can."
Jump back to Captain Grumpy, "Oh God...I can't stand the idea of spending another workday with a Marvel Comics hero destined to make sure the world knows the cup is always half full."
If being interviewed is too sugary then create a dream quote of your own. We all have dreams, take a minute and make yours a reality. Expose it to the world! From my book Oh God What Was I Thinking:
December 28, 1998: Build an ark my son
If I don't try to reshape the fallen forest—my loving neighbors will do it for me. I wish to help the forest breathe so that any destructive man stays completely away. I wish to preserve the forest—to bring to it a stronger life—to last longer than any one mans dream. I'll plant a forest filled with life and not that of another mans greed.
Turning the page...the goal is to uncover what you haven't discovered. If Brian writes: Most of the stuff I say is true because I saw it in a dream and I don't have the presence of mind to make up lies when I'm asleep.
How does it make you feel knowing another person's dream with you as the lead actor could very well be the beat you carry until you've proven it isn't true? We meet those people everyday! Something was seen in the dark of night and through that played out thinker stinker you're now a major part of their continued reality.
Or what if it serves as the invisible line that leads you to several sips of unseen happiness? Are dreams nothing more than a Fortune Cookie?
What was Brian really truly trying to say? You don't just burp up a thought. Expressions arrive from experience. Might he have been confronting his boss who sharply accused him of dipping his baby finger into a seemingly large bowl of chocolate pudding in the company refrigerator?
Rather than bore his leader with, "Dude! Smell my finger!"
The confident writer stood tall in his size eleven shoes that resembled Sunday morning slippers and commanded, "Most of the stuff I say is true because I saw it in a dream and I don't have the presence of mind to make up lies when I'm asleep."
To which the sturdy oversaturated ego driven boss figure quickly replied, "What? Go back to work!"
When it comes to writing don't try to be Shakespeare, Walden or that punk kid in the sixth grade Kevin who delighted every girl with his dictionary memorization plan. Walk up to a tablet blessed with ninety neatly bound evenly lined pages and do nothing more than capture a single breath of air. The only reason why NASA spends billions of dollars every year on the Hubble Telescope is because we've forgotten to participate with our own journey...so let's see what the other worlds are doing so we can point fingers and make up lies.
What? I can say that! Most of the stuff I say is true because I saw it in a dream and I don't have the presence of mind to make up lies when I sleep.
Purple doesn't have to be purple; it can be a shade off blue with a tingle of red highlights. The best concepts and clues are delivered every afternoon via texting and Skyping...what if what you said was kept a little longer than the seven seconds it took to share it? Human's don't lose their memories when they get older...it's all there, we just can't find the piece of skin the thought was Super Glued to, knowing it would have been so much easier to scratch it into a birthday card or sheet of paper.
I spend more time looking at my mother's handwriting than I do reading the Hallmark moment she purchased for $2.99. It's like staring into her eyes..
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arroecollins@clearchannel.com
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