Chase the Wind

I remember being a little girl and wanting to be able to fly.  

With a name like Robin, it’s not really all that surprising. Right?

Well, I wasn’t just any little girl. I was a little girl who went to church with her grandmother every single Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday night, and all the other times during the week the doors were open. 

Most people are a little shocked to find out I was raised Southern Baptist and turned into a witch who also thinks the Abrahamic traditions are beautiful, but here we are.

One of the cool things about Christianity is that it’s filled with magic and as a child, I was far too “me” to realize the adults around me didn’t take it all literally. 

In Matthew 17:20 Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

And I was all about it. I had faith. If I could move a mountain, I could for sure fly. 

So I tried.

I tried SO hard. I’d stand and close my eyes and WILL myself into the sky. I’d ride my bike as fast as I could just knowing if I picked up enough speed I’d launch into the air. I tried it all and while I never left the ground long enough to qualify as flight, I still believe. 

I am now, and always have been, a true believer. It’s just that what I believe in has broadened in scope exponentially. 

That’s why I chase the wind. 

I chase my dreams and I chase the nonmaterial in equal parts. At some point, we’ll have to have a conversation about materialism and idealism and also about pluralism - but today is not that day.

Where am I going with this?

I chase the wind - my impossible goals, my high standards, wisdom, transcendence - because I can. 

Because the chase - the journey of who I have to become to get close to reaching and achieving what I want - is everything. 

I don’t want to live a life standing still watching the wind blow by. I don’t want to stay who I was or who I am. I want to become, do, have, see, and experience all that I don’t even know is possible yet.

And I want that for you.

I want you to want impossible, unreasonable, impractical things and I want you to believe that you have what it takes to transform into the person who chases that dream and grows toward that goal. 

Chasing the wind isn’t practical, but the rewards are immense. Starting this podcast to reach you and hundreds of thousands of other people from my home office in the middle of absolutely nowhere so we can change the world together one impossible goal at a time is for sure not practical. 

But the best goals are never practical. They’re not safe. They’re not ordinary.

But ordinary life’s not for me. Chasing the wind is.

Stuck on the Ground 

One of the things I know to be true is that most people are stuck on the ground.

To be honest, I sometimes forget to believe I’m a mythical flying bird and find myself tethered to the ground from time to time.

It’s completely normal and also not where I want to be.

If you're earthbound and can’t figure out what you want to chase, I’ve got you covered.

In just a minute, I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath, and believe just for a moment that I am your fairy godmother with a wand at the ready to grant you three wishes.

Seriously, you’re Cinderella and I’m about to bibbidi-bobbidi-boo you into whatever you ask for. Poof, it will be yours - yup, the dress, the carriage, and the slippers will all be there. 

It should be a little scary. 

A little - or a lot - outside of what’s comfortable for you now. 

Pause the podcast, breathe, wish, and come back.

If your wish was a raise at a job you don’t completely hate - I’m going to need you to get with the magical program and try that exercise again.

I’m not talking about what would make life slightly less unpleasant. I’m talking ball-at-the-castle amazing. The “you’d be so jazzed to have the opportunity, you’d get over your social anxiety to strut your happy little self up the staircase, in shoes made of glass, right past the haters talking about you, and into the spotlight” kind of amazing.

If that’s not what you wished for, close those eyes and do it again. I’m a cranky godmother and don’t like to wiggle that wand for a run-of-the-mill in-your-comfort-zone kind of wish. 

I mean it. If you haven’t already paused to make your three wishes, do so now. It’s important for there to be actual wish contemplation before you continue.

Alright. Now for the really fun part.

It’s time to play “deconstruct the wish.”

Write down all of the wishes you made and figure out what it is about them that you really want. Did you wish to be a famous singer? Why? For the money? To travel? Oodles of adoring fans throwing unmentionables at you on the stage? Or was it to be paid to do something you love and you love to sing? 

Maybe you wished for an unending vacation filled with traveling the world, seeing new places, meeting people from different cultures, or tasting new food. Wouldn’t THAT be amazing? Or was it because you are so depleted from not chasing your dreams that you just want to escape your current reality - and if it was a wish for an escape, it’s time to ask yourself why you don’t want what you have now.

Those are just a few examples of how to deconstruct your wishes. You’re going to be tempted to say oh no, I want the five million dollars, NBA career, the body of a goddess, slot on the New York Time’s bestseller list, or whatever the wishes were for. 

But I really want you to question that assumption. Ask yourself how it is you think you’d feel if you suddenly had all the things. Why is that feeling what you long for? That’s how we find the thing you REALLY want to chase and how you stay motivated and believe, even if you spend years learning how to fly.

Music Time

Of course, I have a song for you. This week’s episode is inspired by Touch the Sky from the Brave Soundtrack.

Take hold of my own dream

Be as strong as the seas are stormy

And proud as an eagle's scream

I will ride, I will fly

Chase the wind and touch the sky

Next week we’re going to talk about what it takes to really chase your dreams and what it means to be all in for yourself.

So tell me... 

When was the last time you dared to dream the impossible? When did you last let yourself believe you could have anything or be anyone you truly wanted? What DO you want? Who do you want to be? How strong are you willing to be? What’s stopping you?

Spend time with these questions and see what comes up. If you’re feeling frisky, hit me up on Instagram and share your answers with me.

Before I leave I have one last quote for you from Erin Hanson.

“There is freedom waiting for you,

On the breezes of the sky,

And you ask "What if I fall?"

Oh but my darling,

What if you fly?”

Until next time my darling, my wish is for you to have the belief that you can fly.

Podcast Theme Music

License:  Rustic Ballad by Alexander Nakarada