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Dream
Catcher
By Carolyn Allen
As the school year ends and we move into summer, here’s a
neat story and craft activity that would be meaningful do by yourself
or with kids/grandkids for Family Home Evening or an afternoon project.
It might be the just the motivation you need to eat wisely during
the unstructured days and vacation time ahead. Here’s another
weight-loss-made-easy tip: though summer is just beginning, keep
your eye on the calendar. Put a pair of jeans a size or two smaller
than you can wear now front and center in your closet and picture
yourself slipping into them on the first nippy days of September,
three months from now.
Today’s Quote: “Dreams
are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still
untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born."
(Dr. Dale Turner)
One of the memorable privileges of having been a Weight Watchers
leader for many years was associating with inspiring people who
had lost weight and kept it off for years. A favorite of mine was
a woman who was successfully keeping off nearly 80 pounds. With
her love affair for fitted knit tops, wide belts that accented her
waist and fun costume jewelry that drew attention, it was difficult
to imagine her ever having been heavy. She was quick to share, however,
the names her brothers had called her while growing up and willingly
pulled her laminated “before” photo from her purse as
proof.
I first met her at a seminar for leaders
where she was a participant in a panel discussion. The moderator
had asked her how she personally maintained her motivation to lose
weight and what she was doing to maintain.
Much to everyone’s surprise,
she announced in a delicious Southern drawl, “Oh, I am
rarely, if ever, motivated. And it’s never
there when I need it most!” With that she whipped out a ratty
creation of pipe cleaners, yarn and construction paper feathers.
”This is what I use instead. I made it while losing my weight,
and I still keep it in my kitchen where I can see it every day.
It’s called a dream catcher. It ended the nightmares and helped
my dreams come true.”
Out came her story: She’d been
overweight from childhood. As a teenager and young mother, she’d
tried and failed many times. After joining Weight Watchers with
a friend, she’d had some success, but was struggling with
how to stay enthused when she found her answer in a most unlikely
place, a Cub Scout meeting she’d prepared while serving as
a Den Mother. As she shared the following Indian story and craft
with them, she got excited about her own life and potential, as
I hope you will.
Long ago when the world was young,
an old Sioux spiritual leader was on a high mountain and had a vision.
In his vision, Iktomi, the great trickster and teacher of wisdom,
appeared in the form of a spider. Iktomi spoke to him in a sacred
language that only the spiritual leaders of the Lakota could understand.
As he spoke Iktomi, the spider,
took the elder's willow hoop which had feathers, horse hair, beads
and offerings on it and began to spin a web.
He spoke to the elder about the
cycles of life ... and how we begin our lives as infants and we
move on to childhood, and then to adulthood. Finally, we go to old
age where we must be taken care of as infants, completing the cycle.
"But," Iktomi said as
he continued to spin his web, "in each time of life there are
many forces -- some good and some bad. If you listen to the good
forces, they will steer you in the right direction. But if you listen
to the bad forces, they will hurt you and steer you in the wrong
direction.”
He continued, "There are many
forces and different directions that can help or interfere with
the harmony of nature, and also with the great spirit and all of
his wonderful teachings."
All the while the spider spoke,
he continued to weave his web starting from the outside and working
toward the center.
When Iktomi finished speaking,
he gave the Lakota elder the web and said..."See, the web is
a perfect circle but there is a hole in the center of the circle."
He said, "Use the web to help
yourself and your people to reach your goals and make good use of
your people's ideas, dreams and visions.
"If you believe in the great
spirit, the web will catch your good ideas -- and the bad ones will
go through the hole."
The Lakota elder passed on his
vision to his people and now the Sioux Indians use the dream catcher
as the web of their life.
It is hung above their beds or
in their home to sift their dreams and visions.
The good in their dreams are captured
in the web of life and carried with them...but the evil in their
dreams escapes through the hole in the center of the web and are
no longer a part of them.
They believe that the dream catcher
holds the destiny of their future.
After reading the story, the scouts got to work making their own
pipe cleaner dream catchers, decorating them with feathers and yarn.
As she helped them, it occurred to her that she could make her own.
That night, after everyone had gone
to bed she put on some quiet music and got out the construction
paper. She made a pile of paper feathers. On each of them, she wrote
things that distressed her about being overweight. From the names
her brothers had called her while growing up, to how her thighs
chafed in the heat (she made two of those), she listed all the emotional
and physical discomforts of being overweight on the feathers, then
attached them to the dream catcher. It was a true inner cleansing
as she let the words flow onto the little feathers. She attached
them with colorful yarn, then hung it in the kitchen where she would
see it often.
After losing the weight, she found
herself struggling in a new and equally challenging way: how to
maintain and keep it off. It was time for a new dream catcher. Once
again she made a pile of construction paper feathers, and this time
she listed all the things she loved about her new weight, including
compliments and specific outfits.
It has worked for years. The two dream
catchers, quite old and faded by now, still hang in her kitchen
as reminders of why it’s all worth the effort.
Though motivation may come and go,
making the effort to write things down
pays great dividends. If you doubt it, look no further than the
first stories in the Book of Mormon. Nephi and his brothers were
commanded to take their perilous journey and even commit murder
to obtain the brass plates from Laban. Why? Because it contained
the written record the Lord knew they and their posterity needed.
Later Nephi was commanded to make the golden plates for exactly
the same reason: things that are left to memory are often lost,
forgotten and quickly lose their value.
With that thought, it’s a God-given
invitation to liken the scriptures to ourselves and spend some meaningful
time creating a written record … one that will turns dreams
into reality, and change our lives one day, one pound, one choice
at a time.
Today’s Empowerment: I use my history
as a stepping stone to personal peace, motivation and health for
today and tomorrow.
Today’s Journal/Discussion
Prompts/Activity:
1. What physical discomfort has being
overweight caused?
2. What events of my past have caused
emotional discomfort?
3. Spend some time making either a
list and decorating it or a dream catcher. Place someplace proiment
to remind you of these things.
Today’s Recipe: Banana
Milkshakes
Frozen bananas are a staple at
our house for this quick breakfast or snack. I let them ripen until
they’re quite soft, then peel and break into 1” –
2” pieces and freeze in a ziplock bag or plastic container.
We use the “magic bullet” counter-top blender purchased
from the TV infomercial. It’s indispensable, although a blender
works well too.
½ frozen banana
1 cup skim milk (or soy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sweetener of your choice, optional, to taste (add calories accordingly)
Blend well and serve immediately.
(160 Calories, 2 g Dietary Fiber; 0
g Fat 44 g Carb)
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