Dream Big
This is a kind of PSA, Waxing Poetic style.DREAMING
IS
NECESSARY
FOR LIFE
& JOY IN GENERAL.
DO MORE OF IT.
Here’s an order/some advice: dream more. Start now. Reserve some time, every day, for big-dreaming.
Darlings, your daydreams matter.
So do your nightdreams.
So do your afternoon walk dreams.
So do your so-seemingly-impossible-but-also-weirdly-possible-wonderful-what-if dreams. Those especially.
American poet e.e. cummings is famous for his refusal to capitalize his name, for some of the most heartfelt and adventurous free verse poems of the 20th century, and for this very important quote:
DEEDS CANNOT DREAM WHAT DREAMS CAN DO.
It’s true. It’s always true. And in context, as we discovered when we realized that we ought to search out the original poem from which those seven words came, it’s even more true:
Behold, the final four lines in e.e. cummings’ poem [freedom is a breakfastfood]:
deeds cannot dream what dreams can do
—time is a tree(this life one leaf)
but love is the sky and i am for you
just so long and long enough
Boom.
Those four lines, so true.
Time is a tree (this life one leaf), love is the SKY…
We weren’t pulling from this poem when we designed the DREAM BIG charm, but probably somewhere in the back of our consciousness, it was there, like a little beacon, a remember-me flash of feeling and form, mixed up with the melody of Blondie’s new wave ambient anthem ‘Dreaming,’ some fragments of Mama Cass singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” the semi-recent re-appreciation of “Once Upon a Dream” from Sleeping Beauty (having daughters brings all the good songs back), and so many other dreamy-centric songs, other poems, pieces of prose and...we had to make something to remind us to hold space for this under-celebrated practice. Because unless you are a child, or remarkably lucky to have not had your dreaming impulse ever go dormant, dreaming is...something we sometimes let ourselves forget to do. It can slip away slowly, like a second language you rarely speak, or it can vanish with haste, often because other circumstances make the practice of dreaming seem...less important than other matters. This is a mistake, and an almost tragic one -- almost, because unlike some things, dreaming is something you can always pick back up.
Dreaming is paramount. Dreaming generates wishes and wonder and will. Dreaming is the fuel of doing because, as per e.e., dreams do infinitely more than deeds -- they make us brave. Dreams set us free, they give us scope to hope and shape our futures and beautiful nows. There is no one ideal dream, no one version anyone needs to hold onto (precious, like a magical orb)Dreaming is indulgent and empowering. Dreaming is liberation. Dreaming is vital. Dreaming is something that requires little other than giving yourself permission to consider...more and welcome abundant possibilities, maybe shyly, maybe rapturously, maybe awkward, maybe quiet, but always inviting and making room for wonder.
We made our DREAM BIG charm as a reminder of this -- something to wear, something to give, but most importantly something to delightfully affirm every wearer’s fundamental right to DO IT AND OFTEN.
And this month, should you find yourself selecting treasures and keepsakes for your friends or family or favorite person, keep in mind that if your shopping basket crosses the $125 total threshhold… DREAM BIG can come home with you. With our cheering. For free. Use code: DREAMBIG
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Welcome to Nota Bene (both Latin and Italian for “note well,” which we do around here!). At Waxing Poetic, we make things, and get the chance to see them made real (and loved, and changed – by all of you). Here you will find tiny actions, tiny pieces, and tiny particulars of our process – the small (and not so small) things that matter much.
Enjoy!
Patti Pagliei, Founder
