The Useful Art of Daydreaming

The Useful Art of Daydreaming.

A writer friend and I went out to lunch one day, and the topic of daydreaming came up in the conversation. She told me how growing up her mother often scolded her for daydreaming because, from her mother’s perspective, she was wasting time. Not doing anything productive. I had to admit that as a child I frittered away many an hour lost in my own thoughts.

Still do.

Being a writer I have every reason in the world to daydream. For one thing, it’s important work.

What, you ask? Daydreaming?

Yes, I said it’s important work for a writer to daydream. Where else do ideas come from? Thoughts allowed to drift in every which direction help me write stories and poems. And blog posts. But more than that, it transports me from the everyday mundane to the land of possibility. In a real, practical sense, it stretches me to believe for what could be in my life and the life of others. Often, daydreaming sparks prayer.

Important work, indeed!

So next time someone in your life startles you from your reverie, kindly tell them not to disturb you. You’re working. Chances are your loved one will chalk it up to another one of those crazy things and promptly leave you alone!

Related posts: Gifts of an Introvert

2 Links for Introverts and Detailed Thinkers

2 Responses

  1. calensariel

    A beautiful and true post if ever I read one, Amy! It reminded me so much of Enya’s song “Pilgrim.” I see that journey process in her words, too.

    Pilgrim, how you journey
    On the road you chose
    To find out why the winds die
    And where the stories go.

    All days come from one day
    That much you must know,
    You cannot change what’s over
    But only where you go
    One way leads to diamonds,
    One way leads to gold,
    Another leads you only
    To everything you’re told.
    In your heart you wonder
    Which of these is true,
    The road that leads to nowhere,
    The road that leads to you.
    Will you find the answer
    In all you say and do?
    Will you find the answer
    In you?
    Each heart is a pilgrim,
    Each one wants to know
    The reason why the winds die
    And where the stories go.
    Pilgrim, in your journey
    You may travel far,
    For pilgrim it’s a long way
    To find out who you are.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaQnYSbgnM0

    • amy@amyharkemoore.com

      Beautiful song, Calen! I love Enya’s music from Lord of the Rings. Thanks for taking the time to write out the words, too! 🙂 BTW, have you gotten back your results from the ancestry DNA test? Hope you are feeling better. . .

      Oh, and I read your posts on adoption–great story! My family adopted my younger brother from Vietnam just before Saigon fell, and he was actually the second child, as the first one died in a plane crash. We were expecting a six-month-old child, but he was just five pounds–the orphanage lied to get those kids into safe homes before the country fell. Anyway, my brother’s name is Matthew (meaning gift of God) and that one-month-old baby that arrived on the plane in 1975 is now living in Texas, happily married with three little boys!