Have you ever been told you couldn’t do something? Maybe you weren’t told those exact words but people made you feel like your dreams were impossible. Or maybe no one told you that you can’t, but you told yourself that you couldn’t. That you were not good enough, too young, too old, didn’t have enough experience or that you would never amount to something. There are a lot of things that make us question what we love. We have so many voices telling us who we are and what we should do. Trust me I have had enough voices telling me what I should do with my life. I felt that if I picked the wrong one, my whole life would fall apart.
I’ve always wanted to be seen as wise. I mean who doesn’t, but the reality was this. Not all advice was good advice. Wisdom is knowing what advice is good and which ones should not be followed. I have always wanted to write. I love telling stories and poetry always spoke to me. While people intended to help me, they ended up killing my dreams in the process. Let me take you into the neuroscience world for a moment. Dopamine is a very important hormone that drives you forward. When dopamine is met by an obstacle and we push past it, we receive a greater reward. The Problem is, if we are met by too many obstacles repeatedly; our brain gives up because it seems impossible. Causing a dip in the hormone, dopamine.
While people’s intentions may have been good by explaining all the difficulties I will face. What they ended up doing was telling my brain there are too many obstacles, try again somewhere else. I felt so stuck! Living everyone else’s life, and feeling consumed by the dopamine dip. I have spent the past few years unpacking personal trauma and finding balance in my own life. In the course of healing I found a renewed hope. A renewed dream! I have chosen my own path and the life I am going to live. Is there going to be pain? Absolutely!
Here’s the thing, all this pain is worth the good it brings. I feel blessed by my siblings and love every moment I get to hang with the goof balls. I enjoy my hobbies and the people in my life I get to share it with. My writing often tells me things I didn’t know and I hope it does the same for you. Both Writing and being a postpartum doula are dreams of mine. They were renewed while healing took place. I hope all I do, allows you that kind of healing too!
If you want to get to know me more, please read my newsletters. They come out once a month and share a whole lot more than I can do on this single page. Thank you and God bless,
-R.D.Jess
Renewed Dream 