Dream On!

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Amanda MacKenzie, author of the new From Grief to Healing.

When our three children were young, we would often drive past an old green school bus that had a bold FOR SALE sign across the windscreen. Many times, I’d convince my patient husband to stop so I could admire it and talk to them all about how great it would be to buy that bus: to home-school and travel around Australia for a year or more. The idea may have been seeded by many happy holidays of mine in a caravan with mum and dad and my four siblings—long, hot summers, beautiful beaches, and carefree fun.

That old school bus looked like it had seen better days, and even though I couldn’t convince my family how great it would be, it remained a dream of mine that lasted many years.

None of us could have imagined that only ten years later my husband would leave a huge hole in our lives when he died of cancer aged 47. Every aspect of our lives changed, and there didn’t seem much room for dreams.

During those early years we all had wonderful holidays with family and friends at the beach, and I was lucky to see some other beautiful places at home in Australia and across the world. I’m not sure where the bus dream was throughout those years, but over the last couple it has bubbled up again. I joined an online group of solo women campers who inspired me with their adventures and their encouragement. Many of those women have also had to adjust their dreams after death or divorce, or even homelessness, but WOW! Reading their stories made me wonder what was possible for me.

Over the last year or so I started to narrow down what I wanted. Funnily enough, I dismissed the old school buses that were for sale, but I finally found a 2008 motor home with all I needed. It was over 1000kms away and I needed to fly, drive, and take it on a ferry overnight across Bass Strait to get it home. I was very nervous at times, and wondered if I was doing the right thing, but with lots of support and encouragement from my family and friends I now have my van and we’re all planning some adventures.

Part of healing from grief is about learning to dream again—sometimes creating new dreams, or in my case, refreshing an old dream. See you on the road!

You can read more about processing grief in my latest book, From Grief to Healing” target=”new”>From Grief to Healing: A Holistic Guide to Rebuilding Mind, Body & Spirit After Loss.

Our thanks to Shannon for her guest post! For more from Amanda MacKenzie, read her article “Suffering and Healing: Could a Therapist Help?.”