Recharge Your Soul

Sometimes, things happen. These things are unavoidable, and sometimes even important. School, family responsibilities, jobs, chores, general busyness. But they drain the soul.
Take time to recharge. Do the things that make your soul sing. Listen to what your inner voice is trying to tell you. Maybe yoga helps. Maybe climbing trees, journaling, playing music, or running.
Seriously. When it feels like everything around you is crushing something inside of you, leave. If social media is an issue, quit. If studying is an issue, take a break.
Nurture your soul and you will reap rewards in your life. Seek peace. Heal your life.

Dreams_Rough

You know, there's a strange question that bounces in my head. After watching Disney's Hercules once more, I asked myself something I don't think I've ever asked before:

"Is there a limit to what we should do to create our dreams? Should there be?"

Considering the effort we must put in; the wishes, the hopes, the time, and the struggles; how far are we willing to go? And if we're really willing to "Go the Distance", is that a bad thing? It's always great to have dreams, but can they affect someone in a negative way? Before we can truly answer my question, perhaps we should know what these Dreams require.

To accomplish one's dream, it requires time, the stuff that life is made of. If we want to do anything in life, we are required to spend time on it. I mean, I can't go make myself a sandwich without the flow of time, right? ...Sandwiches... 

*Cough* Anyway, we need to spend time to do things. It's a necessity of life that you spend your time efficiently and use it to make something out of nothing. Life isn't always easy in that aspect. You need to spend it evenly between time at work and time at play. When the word "Spend" is said, however, the natural thought is that it can be hoarded, locked away for some rainy morning or when in need. Trust me, I wish it were possible to hoard free time. I mean, I'm a serious hoarder. If I get chocolate, I stash it away to some secret place for a time when I need it. Such as Finals, when I'm seriously in need. If I could hoard time, then I would just swallow the frog, and take the harsh with the Good, saving a Summer Vacation just in case I need to take a couple days off of schooling.

However, the problem with life is that you can't stash it for later. Time comes, and time goes. You can't tell the sun to stop. You can't tell the Earth to stand still. It's just not possible.

So, where am I going with this, and what does it have to do with dreams?

To make a dream come true, it's Time that's the key. Time, and lots of hard work. Too often, we spend too much or too little time trying to accomplish our dreams, and we hurt others and desensitize ourselves in the process. I mean, look at Hercules. He was a great man! He was a hero with the strength to break a mountain in half, to run a thousand miles, and to lift a giant boulder! He had it all: the looks, the might, and the charisma. However, being a hero is a full time job. As a hero and an idol, he never got downtime. He probably didn't get much time to share with his family. There was a period where he wasn't quite satisfied with everything he had before he finally threw down a Lion-skin screaming "What's the point?!?" He was no closer to accomplishing his dream then he was originally, despite spending countless hours training for combat and fighting. What happened with his Dream?

It's possible to spend too much time on a Dream, or to spend too much time on something in general. You often feel exhausted, or like you're trying to tread on water. Nothing seems to work, and you feel like you're going nowhere. At times like this, take a break! Enjoy some time with those you love, and then come on back. When you've rejuvenated, you'll come back swinging, ready to hit the ground running, and to hit it hard.

It is just as possible to spend not enough time on a dream as too much of it. Have you heard of that one guy who gave up his dreams? No? Exactly. When we spend too much time on the fly, enjoying borrowed time, our Dream is no more than wishful thinking, and, well, that never helped anyone. It's kind of like a shadow without an owner; pretty sad, actually. If we waste our time on complete and utter entertainment, are we really living? The Declaration of Independence states that we are all entitled to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Isn't "Happiness", spending time with those you love, having fun after a long day's work, and making a dream a reality?

Free time is great! Free time is fun. However, isn't too much of anything (Including Potatoes ;-; ) bad? I can get mad skills at Halo, but am I really doing anything productive? Am I honing the skills I want? Am I fulfilling my dream?

In the end, there's a perfect balance between not enough and too much time spent upon a Dream. Being overworked demotivates you; so does being under-worked. When you're energy is completely spent, it's all gone; yet, when there's nothing is required, nothing is gained.

So, I would recommend that, if you've got some crazy dream like me, you go out and do something about it. Make it your biggest goal and watch it become your reality. I wouldn't recommend making it your only priority, though. I mean, there's still education, friends, family, to some a Religion, homework, school, books, sleep, recuperation, work, and a billion different things on your plate! If you always put your Dream before all of those, I can almost guarantee you'll lead an unhappy life. (Especially if you ignore your family. That's where the feuds from Romeo and Juliet and all those other classic feuds come from. It's the Truth.Uh huh. If I lie, then may Lightning... Erm, never mind. )

Finding the correct balance between too much time and not enough is quite difficult. I mean, we juggle so much in life that we don't have time to pin-point how much time we spend on something. However, I can promise you that, once you find it, you'll notice life will be so much more enjoyable. After all, "A Happy wife, is a happy life!" 

.....Nailed it.

Real Magic

There are a few things in the world that can quite accurately be called magic. Typically I avoid using 'magic' when explaining things, but how else can I? Some things simply defy other description.
For example, today I was playing with my baby sister. I would tickle her belly and she would break out in the biggest peals of laughter anybody has ever heard. The sound of that laugh had the power to break through my sadness and make me smile. It was lovely.
Or the other day, when I climbed up in a tree and just sat there, looking down at the rest of the world. Everything looks different from up there. Time slows down, and suddenly everything is so much clearer. The little concerns that usually take up life seem so incredibly petty. The grand simplicity of life and what really matters are more evident from high up.
Another thing is just the power that holding hands or embracing have. I am not usually a huge fan of physical contact. Like, when people are hugging and touching and playing with hair I usually try to hide and pretend I am not there. It's grody. But sometimes the best way to fight loneliness or just express happiness is through being with people. I don't know why, but it is.
Anyway, I just want you all to enjoy life. I want you to be happy. I want you to notice how wonderful some of the simplest things in life really are. Keep watch for the little lovely things and  you will fall in love with life. Pinky promise.

Dear Reader

Hello!
I'm Megan, the other half of the Prospering Dandelions partnership. (Note: You can tell when I'm writing, because Jared will type in blue, while I type in black.)
This blog was created as a place where dreamers can collect and edify one another. Hopefully, you will sense this as we post more often. Hopefully, you are one of those dreamers who will join us in changing the world.
 I wish I could give you a good, certain idea of what is going to happen with this blog. Knowing exactly what to expect from an experience is certainly more comfortable, but we have only a hazy outline of what we are going to post. As two teens passionate about life and changing the world, you can safely assume that we are going to write about our challenges, dreams, joys, and musings on life in general. That is about as concrete as I can get, however.
So, join us.

Of Dandelions and Daffodils

Of Dandelions and Daffodils

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or night to you! I'm Jared, one of the writers for this blog, Prospering Dandelions.

Now, I'm not quite sure how you arrived here at our blog. Perhaps you were sent here by a friend. Maybe you were on your way to your favorite blog, whether that be a comedic blog or a life-changing one when you stumbled upon us and wondered what we were about. Or perhaps you were answering the call of the wind, drifting around the internet when you decided to check us out. Whatever way you came to us, we'd like to welcome you to our meadow. Now, I know what you're probably thinking: of anything out of the entire world, why choose dandelions? Why choose daffodils? I'll explain to you.

Every human has ideas, dreams, goals, aspirations, and hopes. If you take a first glance, you might say that they have no use, such as the Dandelion or Daffodil. However, looking deeper you'll find that people find themselves through these hopes. They hold us together, and without them, we would be an empty husk. Imagine your good friend (that one guy always with his head in the clouds) without this content in his head. Take a moment to think. He certainly would be very different with more air between his ears. Perhaps he'd be a bit more melancholy, or not so inventive. These thoughts affect who we are on a major scale, and they are ingrained in our very being.

Thinking is contagious. If someone asks our opinion on something, we immediately search our brain for an answer to the question at hand. After watching someone pondering over a puzzling dilemma, have you ever stopped and asked "Yeah, what about that? What does it mean?" Like dandelions, thoughts spread like wildfire. Unlike a dandelion, however, they are heartily welcomed in the yard of the mind. They bring a bit of personality and color to the otherwise default green, and help the grass grow.

Daffodils, on the other hand, are sweet. Just as a community effort, or an act of pure charity, they are universally owned and do good no matter who owns them. They're beautiful, and simply contribute to the wonders of the world. Unlike the rose, whose elegant petals and wondrous smell hide painful thorns, the daffodil is open and is giving. This is the spirit of giving and love.

So, why have we chosen daffodils and dandelions? One spreads the seeds of creativity and joy, and the other is a beacon of beauty and light. We enjoy spreading ideas, thoughts, and inspirations, and the joy that comes from helping one another. We hope to infect you with a bit of our enthusiasm, and our happiness.


Welcome to our meadow!