Magical Thinking And Riding On A Dream

She got to know the secretaries at these doctor's offices very well and made sure she kept in good

speaking friendships with them, so she could call and insert herself into an appointment when she

wanted it. One day, she woke up and said to herself, no doctors today. Today, I will go and do some

ballroom dancing. I will take a lesson, I will look at a pair of new ballroom dance shoes, and I will practice

with my husband in the family room. I will not go to a doctor this week.

That was quite a new method of living for her. No doctors, no secretaries, no driving to the various

offices. The only driving she did that week was for her dancing activities. She got excellent exercise; her

mind did not think about illness and you KNOW WHAT? She felt good physically all that week. She

decided she would frequent the doctor offices only when and if she really needed it. She would not go

there to be reassured that everything was ok when in her heart she knew it was fine.

The reason she felt this way was because her Dad had died because he waited a month for his doctor to come back from a long trip and in those days, patients did not go to alternate offices. Her brother also waited when he was told at an x-ray facility that no appointment was available for ten days. If she would have known that; she would have gotten him into her cardiologist’s office where they had dozens of doctors. He passed away several days before his appointment.

Ballroom dancing is like a good drug. It stimulates your mind; it exercises your feet, arms and neck. It

enhances your good thoughts and it raises your esteem in your own mind. You are not sick, you need no

doctors today, and you can and are surviving at this senior passage of time. Ballroom dancing is a

stimulant that is good for your soul and keeps your mind active. Even if you go and sometimes sit out

some or all dances, just going takes good courage. You are special and you do not need a medical person

to tell you that everything is FINE. You know yourself that you are a good person and if you are feeling

well enough to go out and dance or do dance activities, you are a golden senior, not a senile senior. This

is the best gift you can give to yourself.

I heard the following phrase on a show today. It is: there is something called magical thinking. The

meaning was about something else than what I would perceive it to be. I would dwell on the fact that it

is magic to think about something different happening to us someday soon. Seniors think often about

getting sick and having to depend on someone else to help or assist them in normal daily duties. They

may worry about becoming incapacitated by illness. This is a normal feeling, but we should dwell on the

great things that are in our life right now. The future is fine to think about when you are young and

starting out and even into middle age. However, I feel that the future is now and we should live in the

now and accomplish everything we desire. We hold our destiny in our own hands and let us reach out

with our hands and mind and do something now we could be contemplating as seniors or not yet

seniors.

Magical thinking is in my mind taking the magic of focusing on the future and making the future happen

right this week. I have mentioned in previous articles that my dad always said today is good, tomorrow

will be better and the future will be fantastic. He did not live to the future because he passed away

when he was only seventy-two and six days.

 A few years ago at night at 7 P.M. on December 2nd, 2011,  I became the

surviving member of our little family of four to live past seventy-seven. Mom was that age plus 5 months

and eleven days when she died. On December 2nd, 2011 I surpassed her then age.

I always worried I would follow in “her footsteps”  with this age event. I did not.

Magical thinking can be utilized in many ways. It is also called visualization. If you can visualize something excellent happening to you even if it in the future, this helps you to continue on at a happier pace with your mind and your thoughts.

My friend in Steilacoom, Washington Steven Behr who is a Wellness Educator always says “have an unbelievable day.” Once he said he could visualize him and me dancing to a marvelous waltz or foxtrot since we are both ballroom dance advocates. He being on the west coast and me here on the east coast, it will never happen, but it is a nice thought.

This is a form of magical thinking and if we promote magical thoughts in our minds and souls, some may come true, others not, but the process of thinking about unbelievable events is magic itself.

You hear of vocalists, actors, comedians and others tell you after their successes how they imagined all of this when they were kids or adults starting out with dreams.

Steven once said “we are active adults aging; still riding on a dream.”

Always take the ride on a dream with magical thinking. It can come true.