Buy Some Glasses and Get a Vision

"Where there is no vision the people perish" -Proverbs 29:18
    If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you've gotten there? Who do you want to be? What do you want that person to be doing? What do you want your life to look like? Getting a vision is powerful. Putting these wishes, thoughts, and dreams out into the universe is the first step in making them reality.
    I have found that creating a vision board is a really helpful exercise in clarifying who I want to be. Although there are many different ways to go about creating a vision board, the basic gist is that you take pictures, words, phrases, and anything else meaningful to you, and cut and paste them into a board of what you want your future to look like. For some really comprehensive instructions on creating a vision board, I recommend Christine Kane's Complete Guide to Vision Boards (http://christinekane.com/). In the meantime, here are some of my recommendations for getting a vision for yourself:

• I don't think it matters if you create a vision board out of old magazine clippings, digitally, create a vision journal, or come up with some other wildly creative way to brainstorm the vision of your life. The key is to brainstorm. Write down everything you want to be, cut out pictures of everywhere you want to go, create an index card file of one word traits you want to cultivate in yourself. The key is to brainstorm!
• I prefer a method of digital vision board using mainly pictures. Below you can check out my vision board from last year and my vision board from this year. Basically, I select all the pictures that speak to me, then sort them into meaningful categories, and then arrange them on the board. I used the "dream board" on oprah.com for mine.
• Remember, it's time to DO something. Creating a vision board, free form writing about all the   dreams you have, listing out the kind of person you want to be- any and all of these activities will truly help jump start your fresh start.

If you are unfamiliar with journaling or not very arts and crafty, I know this activity might be out of your comfort zone. However, if you cannot articulate where you are going, you really can't begin the journey. For those that are feeling trepidatious about this, I will write some more specific instructions on getting a vision tomorrow. For the rest of you, grab your scissors and start cutting!

Last Year's (2011-2012) Vision Board

                                                     

This Year's (2012-2013) Vision Board

                                                        



















PS- Most of the stuff on last year's vision board came true. More on that tomorrow!

Let's Start at the Very Beginning (a very good place to start!)

I believe that one of my callings is to help people through transitional phases of their lives. It seems like the theatre draws people in transition, and since that's where I spend most of my time, most people who surround me are in a changing life phase. Each of these transitional times (going to college, graduating from college, looking for a higher purpose in life, kids are off to school, kids are out of the house, divorce- the list goes on and on) is a fresh start- if you will open the page to start a new chapter.
   
    Unfortunately, many people have absolutely no idea where to go when confronted with a fresh start. They either have no idea who and what they want to be, or they are afraid to admit (to themselves and others) how big their dreams truly are. If you are one of these people, I want you to take a deep breath. This is going to be hard for you. It might even be painful as we confront and come to terms with past broken dreams. I want you to know that you can truly start fresh. You obviously want to (you're reading this). For today, don't stress yourself out with how overwhelmed you feel. It's enough today to admit that you want a fresh start, and that you are afraid. If you are a journal-er, write it down, "I want to start over but I'm really afraid of what that will mean." If you don't write, just close your eyes and say it in your head.
   
    If you actually took a second to admit your fear, you've already begun to write the next chapter. It's only the beginning- it's going to get really cool.

A Fresh Start

The blank page, the empty screen, the silent dance studio, the clean, fresh canvas. It's time to start. It's time to pick up a paintbrush, start typing, get moving in the mirror. I think the blank slate can be terrifying. You have to create something in the vast emptiness.
    But when you're talking about starting over in life, very few of us have the luxury of a completely blank slate. I suppose starting over is much more like beginning a new chapter. The beginning of the book has been written, and you turn the page into the fresh, empty chapter. Unfortunately, you have to bring all the previous chapters with you. It's true, that past will shape many parts of your new beginning- but it doesn't have to define your new life.

I love starting over. I love that each new day is a blank canvas. I love Sundays because you get a whole week of seven days to change things, aspire to things, to start anew. I also know that starting over for many people can be terrifying or very painful. It might mean leaving something or someone in order to get where you need to go. It might mean that in order to truly start over, you have to take some time to delve into the past, and fully work through issues you have been running from for years. It might mean that it is time to admit what you truly want to be when you grow up (even if you are "grown up"), or admit that you have no idea what you are passionate about.

    I decided to start this blog as a fresh start for myself. I have already started the process for myself, and I wanted a place to share my thoughts and insights, as well as create a safe place for others to explore the possibility of starting over. I also wanted a place to start fresh and detach from a lot of the negativity that has surrounded my life in the past several years, including the negativity of my prior blog.
    So, today it's Sunday, and that seems to me like a good day to start over!