Well, hello there. My name is Morgan Harper-Nichols. I'm an artist and a writer, and this is a space where I share words that I hope can make a little room for you to slow down and take a few deep breaths as you prepare for whatever lies ahead.

Thanks for being here today. And now on to today's episode.

If your Monday is off to a slow start and you feel that you're lacking in energy or you just feel that you're slowly trekking toward the end of the year,

here's a little reminder to give yourself permission to dream even here. Giving yourself

permission to dream can sometimes feel like an insurmountable task. It requires us to be vulnerable with our ideas and our desires,

and it can be scary to put those dreams out into a world where they could be criticized or denied.

We may also fear that dreaming for ourselves means leaving others behind. But when we use our imagination, we can come up with new ways

to integrate other people into the visions we have for the future. No matter the voices that have

made us feel like our ideas won't be appreciated, we must remember those voices do not define the limits of our

creativity. We are allowed to find inspiration by humbly listening to others and pulling from all

we have learned along the way. In order to have a better future, we need to actively seek out

people who are willing to dream of better, and we can be those people. We may not know what's ahead,

or in what ways we will succeed or fail, but we do know that we have it in us to try anyways. We know that we

must look to the horizon with hope and travel forward while also asking, how can I bring others with me?

If it feels difficult to dream up all the specific workings of the future,

try starting small by thinking about the specific ways you'd like to help the people around you.

Maybe a friend of yours is dealing with a relationship issue and the words that hurt her are hurting you too.

Perhaps there was a story of tragedy that you read years ago, and while you may not have been

able to help at that time, the story has stuck with you. You may not have the exact solution

for that friend, that family, or that community, but the feeling

you get when you consider those around you is proof that your dream for the future can be

about something so much bigger than yourself. Keep these stories close. Look to them when you find yourself afraid of the critics.

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