This new year there is an opportunity to create something new. You can create something new at any time of the year but I do like the traditions that come with the new year. Taking a moment, or a few days, to look back and see our growth, our challenges, our triumphs. To take a few moments at the end of the year to consider what we’d like to create, have, experience, renew, or change in the new year.
One thing on my mind recently has been having a vision for your life.
I once met a person who didn’t really dream of new things. They were living in a rather rough cycle of poverty but they were also extremely capable — even thriving within their own world. I remember seeing them one day and they started to talk about a new dream; a home. It was a remarkable moment to watch this person go from mostly considering their next steps to survive and just get by transform into having a vision for a new future. To have a dream or a vision for your life is a powerful experience and healing for everyone.
To dream or have a vision of something for yourself can be profound. In one way, you are accessing and working beyond your body’s biological needs. It may take learning about getting yourself safe so you have space to dream. When you are dreaming you are creating from the spirit of who you are.
Think about people who we consider to be great dreamers; people with a vision for the world or themselves. Here are a few that come to mind: The Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, activist Greta Thunberg, Obama, and the singer Lizzo. Their lives were not always as they are now. They had a dream or vision for life first. Sometimes that vision is the very thing that keeps you moving along your journey.
Just as well, the people in your life, or even acquaintances at work, may have a vision for their life that started the journey to where they are now or where they are headed. The same can be said for you. You are living part of your dream.
Remember when you were a kid, how you’d imagine and pretend to be different people. Maybe you even drew pictures of your visions. As adults, we might go into meditation, daydream, or create vision boards. The part of us that dreams is always with us if we stay open to the playfulness and imagination we experienced as children.
It can be challenging living in a world where dreaming is not always validated. The typical thing to do is fall into patterns; eat, work, home, Netflix, sleep, repeat. This can become a status quo. Some people may even think dreaming is silly, for the rich, or that their dreams are too big to be real.
But what happens when you come across someone who really knows how to dream? Even better, what happens when you come across someone who’s dream became their reality?
Watching Jeffree Starr along with seeing Cardi B express what they are having and how far they have come is inspirational. Sometimes seeing what others create in their lives can inspire us to dream beyond our wildest dreams.
For a moment consider the dreams that seem typical for you? The New Year tends to bring a few recurring trends: resolving to get healthy, work out, saving money, take up new hobbies, etc. Yet, there is a difference between having a vision for your life and resolving to have the things you should want in your life. Sometimes we get it mixed up.
Do you really want to lose weight, eat healthy food, save money, or is it something you should do based on society? What if you really want to climb stairs without being out of breath, wished you were an artist, or want to take a leap and start that new project or business. There are so many ways to get there. What is your dream way to the heart of your dream?
Having something new starts with having a vision. What’s your vision or dream for your life?