The year of Tiny-Big dreams

[Magic sprinkle sound.]

I don’t have a word for the year. I can’t land on one that feels right. But this sentence seems to be on a loop in my head: “This is the year of tiny-big dreams.”

What is a Tiny-Big dream?

A Tiny-Big dream might be the kind of thing you don’t say to people because you barely even admit it to yourself. It’s a desire for something that feels silly, insignificant, frivolous, perhaps even ridiculous. There’s a good chance they’re simultaneously somewhat outrageous, (to you or others) impossible (usually because of life in general) or even bizarre.

They’re also the kind of thing that hangs around your to-do list for weeks, years, decades because you. just. can’t. even. In this case, it’s not so much the thing itself that’s a dream, but rather in the completion of the thing because it’s no longer skulking around your quiet moments, reminding you, it’s there. Waiting.

Or perhaps they’re recurring daydreams that get shushed back to the subconscious. There’s just no place for these things in a chaotic planet that feels like it’s about to rock off its axis any moment, is there?

No seriously, is there? Are we allowed TinyBig dreams right now? Is it ok to dream about baking cookies or fitness goals or decorating houses or travel when the world is imploding and everywhere we turn it’s the left side of crazy?

I don’t really know the answer to that except to say that the moment my being miserable makes a significant impact to anyone, I’ll consider staying in that place.

Until that time let us wonder: What if these Tiny-Big dreams are made of Tiny-Big moments that make a Tiny-Big difference in our lives? Having achieved a few TinyBig dreams recently, I can tell you, some of them come with some Tiny-Big emotions too. Not all of them, some are just fun, but behind a few of these longings we ignore are stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we’re capable of.

I first tuned in to this idea of TinyBig dreams last year when I decided to make my own birthday cake. A proper birthday cake: Lambeth Style. I’d always wanted to, but a) I’ve definitely burned birthday cakes and some have ended up on the ceiling, and b) that seems like a lot of energy I could be spending on…just about anything else.

But I let myself take the time to learn, get guidance, practice and did it anyway. It wasn’t perfect but it was lovely and it was the experience of giving myself the opportunity to have a go that was the true power of a Tiny-Big dream. Plus, I found out, I could bake a cake without needing to claim it off the ceiling. I’m not a terrible cook after all. Who knew!

Here’s a few of my Tiny-Big dreams I’m hoping to cross off in 2024:

These are probably actually terrible examples but they’re just the first ones that I can think of, at least that I’m willing to admit here.

So, I guess my question to you is, am I *actually* crazy, or do you want to go on this year of chasing TinyBig dreams with me? Are you dreaming up something right now that feels silly, outrageous, frivolous…impossible?