"Tunneling" Your Fears

I've somehow grown to be afraid of tunnels.  Growing up in Pennsylvania, living right near the turnpike meant we would travel through the tunnels of the Blue Mountain ridge of PA.  As a child I thought they were really neat...but as I have grown older and have a better comprehension of what they really are, I have to fight fear when I go through them.

I spent part of my week in Franklin, TN working on the upcoming Portraits of White concert, overcoming other fears.  I recorded short video clips as a way to "journal" my trip and share it with my friends.  Overcoming my fears about this upcoming concert has made many other fears in my life begin to appear small.  If I can do this concert.....I can do just about anything.

One morning I was out walking and decided to walk through a tunnel that I've known existed but was a little nervous about entering.

It was an 'enlightening' experience.

Click here to experience the tunnel with me.

If you want to experience the whole TN trip with me, head over to my Frances Drost Solo Artist page and "like" it and then you can go with me - virtually.

When it comes to pursuing your dreams.....

What are you afraid of?
What holds you back from pursuing them or conquering your fears?

Got A Light?

It's that time of year. The sun sleeps in later and goes to bed early. It throws my routine and rhythm out of whack and I don't like it.  I have to change my quiet time, my exercise time and even my diet.

Basically, I have to readjust my schedule to fit the sunlight. Shorter motorcycle rides in the evening (if any) and no early morning jogs. No more fresh watermelon and cantaloupe. My tomatoes are still with me but they are slowly fading and don't ripen as well in the crisp air.

During the summer I crave fruit and there is plenty to satisfy me so I make better food choices. In the fall I crave pumpkin pie, apple pie...dumplings...all the stuff I really shouldn't have. So now my temptation list is a little longer and stronger.

Every year I experience this upheaval, but every year I learn to adjust a little more quickly. I can't change the daylight, but I can guard my attitude.

There's one thing that I find helpful and though it's very small, I appreciate the hope it brings:
I simply light a candle on our table when we eat breakfast and dinner. The tardy sun in the morning and the approaching darkness outside in the evening are softened by the light of the candle. It flickers and makes me feel warm and peaceful.

It's funny how the smallest things can make a big difference. Like lighting a candle or choosing to embrace the change of seasons instead of dreading them. How about enjoying the fact that I can soon uproot my flowers and be done with outside work. There is a sense of rest from those labors. By the time spring comes, I'll be more than ready to start in on the garden again but I welcome the break from outside upkeep.

So if you, like me, struggle with the fading summer and coming winter, here's a few tips:

1.) Find creative ways to embrace the change (like candlelight on the table)

2.) Adjust your mental attitude from dread to embrace (be thankful for a break from outside work)

3.) Change your normal routine and realize that with it may come some benefits (it can keep you from getting too set in your ways)

Got a light? Put it to use!

"Getting Old - Do Not Disturb"

I feel like I have two girls living inside.

One is about 7 years old and has big ideas. Her dreams are bigger than her shoes but she doesn't care.

She's pretty clear about what she wants and there is nothing that can stop her because her imagination is the force within that drives her.  She would never tell you that because she's too young to know better. Dreaming is as natural as breathing. She doesn't give it a second thought. Decisions are easy. She does what pops into her head without thought of the future. It's all about the NOW.

The second girl is about 70 years old.

She's been through more things than you should ever take time to hear about. She has stepped out and taken some risks. Though most things have turned out ok, she's still sure that as she gets older, risks are too....well, um.....risky. Experience and fears (usually unfounded) make her less apt to dream. She could easily close up shop and hang a sign on the door:

"Getting Old - Do Not Disturb"

Yesterday I told my husband that the little girl in me seems to know exactly what to do, but the old woman in me rebukes me and starts talking me out of everything.

The older I get, the more I am trying to listen to the little girl inside. I think you reach a certain age where you start realizing that what you might lose is worth risking. (Please remind me of this the next time you see me freaking out).

I recently found myself wishing for a way to bring the two generations together - not just my two girls on the inside, but in society.

I was in Canada on a mini tour and one of the events I did was very small, but very rich. I'd go back again in a heartbeat. A group of mostly elderly gathered to sing hymns for a couple of hours. They were invited to pick their favorite songs and boy did we sing! When we weren't crying, that is. We ate a tasty lunch and then I did a concert for them. They laughed at "Silver Hair", my new parody of "Silver Bells".  It's not too early for Christmas these days.  It's all I think about as my big concert draws near.

I watched as they started blowing noses and wiping tears. I choked up. Some of them don't get to sing the old hymns any more. But they've lived life long enough that when they sing, they know from experience how true the words are. I found myself wishing the young people could experience this moment. I found myself wondering what I could do to join the vitality of youth, faith and zeal with the deep endurance of those who have lived long enough to be touched by the simplicity of faith.

The song leader and I are not yet fifty. We still have some youth left in us but we have been dancing with the symptoms of aging and we're getting a bit clumsy in our 'jig' as we navigate our forties. We can learn from those who have been there.

And likewise, I wish there was a way that the little girl in me could keep the old woman from caving in to ease and comfort. There must be a way for the old woman in me to nurture and guide the little girl who loves to dream.

Just like there must be a way for the younger generation to help the older ones remember how to dream. There must be a way for the older generation to speak wisdom and experience to the youth and catch them when they fall.

I think I'll keep my shop open for a while yet and I think I will change the sign:

"Getting Old - MOVE Out Of My Way"

The Dream Map

One of my readers posted this on my Facebook page recently and I laughed out loud in response.

It's so true and it says everything I could ever try to say in a million posts.

This is a map showing you the reality of dreaming!

The Voices Inside Your Head

If you are a human, you come built with voices inside your head.  They can be as quiet as a passing thought or as loud as someone shouting at you. We either listen to them or we silence them.  They can be replaced with new voices or we can simply give in to the negative ones we seem to be born with.

I'm not sure when they actually materialize, but it seems like they can actually get louder as we get older. After all, as we age we accumulate more experiences that threaten to validate the voices of fear and doubt we've heard.

"You didn't lose weight the last time you tried. Why try again? It's hopeless."

"You know what happened when you spoke up the last time!"

"You are such a loser. You'll never be able to pull this off!"

I recently created a little video for a project I'm working on with RocketHub.  It was meant to be funny and when I posted it on Facebook, it was obvious that it did make people laugh.

The truth is, there really is a "dream killer" in my head. It announces it's presence at the strangest times.

If voices in your head had a face, they might look like this.....

Click here to 'see the voices' in your head.

Portraits of White is a very big dream and I've had plenty of experience fighting off voices in my head that haunt me with doubt and fear. It's a very expensive endeavor - and not just financially. It's an emotional investment as I make myself vulnerable to the public. "The Tip Jar" RocketHub campaign is one way to let others know what I'm up to and have a chance to contribute toward this BIG dream!

When I stand on the stage December 12, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. to begin the concert, you will know that the voices in my head have been conquered.

Here's a tip I use:

IGNORE THEM.

The Invisible Runner Inside You

She offered me her bike one day so that we could go cycling together.  I was elated because I had been praying for a bicycle for months and now she was offering one of hers for my use AND a chance to ride with a friend. That was the start of a new friendship.

Every Friday we started riding together.  Sometimes there were 3 or 4 of us gals and we had a blast! Newville, PA may be small, but it offers a wonderful bike trail right near my house.  I was enjoying this new friend and our exercise times together at 6:00 in the mornings, until.....

I got a text asking if I wanted to run together in the morning. That was different. I'm new to long distance running and I feel very shy about it. It's taken me all summer to build up enough endurance to run 35 minutes without stopping. I knew that she has been running a long time and is much more experienced.

I had so many fears, would I be able to keep up? Would I slow her down? What if she wanted to talk and expected me to participate? I can barely breathe, let alone talk!

I sweat buckets of rain when I run and I really didn't want her to see that.

It reminded of an experience years ago at a gym. I was getting tired of a young college guy who kept coming in and asking me if I wanted the fan on (it was mounted above us on the wall and I had turned it on earlier).  The mean side of me wanted to say "no, I just have it on to bug you - I really don't want the fan on, I just turn it on out of obligation". Then I pictured myself yelling...OF COURSE I WANT THE FAN ON!"  But I merely said, yes...I want the fan on.

After this kept happening, I went to the girl in charge at the gym and mentioned this to her.  She told me men don't want the fan on because they WANT to sweat - thinking they will lose more weight if they sweat.  If that's the case, I should be the size of a petite toothpick. I have them all beat with the way I sweat......so I didn't really relish running with a friend.

At first, I said, no.  But since I'm already living on the edge with the big winter concert I'm planning, why not just keep trying new things in other areas of my life and be adventurous, I thought to myself. So I said, "sure - why not".

So I found myself running with a friend. I finally told her halfway through that I felt like I was going to die and asked if that was normal. Her hesitation made me nervous. But once she knew how I was feeling, she gave me some pointers. And they helped!

Immediately I thought about how much this experience felt like my walk with the Holy Spirit. He has been given to us to help us on our journey. We get shy about letting Him be a part of it sometimes because He will see and know everything embarrassing about us. But if we listen closely, He will give us tips along the way to help.

For instance, recently I was beginning to feel like my Portraits of White concert dream was becoming an avalanche, about to snow me under. One day I felt a gentle whisper: "Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit" and with it came a sense of peace. I latched on to that and have been quoting it over and over to myself when I start feeling overwhelmed.

I smiled as I said to my new friend running easily beside me. You remind me of the Holy Spirit. Someone to run along side of us and help sustain us.

I lived through that run and here I am writing about it.

You may not be able to see the runner beside you, but He is there. Listen for Him. Respond to Him. He's not only beside you, He is INSIDE you.

What do you have in front of you that requires strength and power that you don't have? Ask for the Spirit to help you!

The Dream House

Larry Moshell and Kecia Jones at ACT International, Nashville, TN

Kecia Jones has a vision to change the public education system in America.  I heard her speak in Nashville, TN last week while I was there. I'm not in public education, but I soon felt like I wanted to be, just because of her passion. She has a BIG dream and she's going after it with every bone in her body.

Lynn Brown, another passionate dreamer, stepped on to the stage and shared her vision to use arts as a way to help people in prison.  She didn't even know anyone in prison, yet she began to have a vision and has made it happen! Cellblock Creations was started to bring attention to the critical nature of conditions surrounding re-entry citizens that largely affect and may even determine the success or failure of their return to society. Cellblock Creations exists to address those critical needs.

Mary Gwyn Bowen wanted to combine her nursing, teaching and arts gifts into one and has started the Art To Heart project encouraging art as a way to help patients heal during their stay in hospitals.

Every afternoon we sat as various people with a love for art and a dream to make something happen shared their journey and what they are doing to change the world through music, dance, art, drama, painting, film, storytelling, theatre, etc. I felt like I was in a green house but it was actually a dream house.  

ACT International exists because one man had a vision to see the arts unleashed in the earth. I went to their seminar hoping to learn more about their organization but I came home reminded of the power of what happens when one person has a vision to use their gifts and abilities to dream and change the world.

It only fueled my passion to see others identify their passion/dream and take steps to see it through.

Is there a dream in your heart?

What is one thing you could do today toward stepping out and taking action?