As the year comes to a close, and a new one is beginning, I find myself looking both backward and forward. I like to run through the important highlights of the year that is ending so I can remember how far I have come. I review my goals and plans and dreams to see where I am on the general map of my life, to see what is still true for me and what needs to be reconfigured. I look at what I have let go of so that I can make space for the new that I want to bring in, and I look at what I didn’t accomplish – as difficult as that is. I ask my friends to remind me about the good and the bad they have experienced with me through the year. Some of it seems so very long ago that it surely could not have been this year! And some of it seems so important or so ongoing, that it seems like a year is not enough time to contain it. I like the cold days of winter with so much time spent indoors and such long nights because they allow me the time I need to reflect on all of this.
And I start to look to the year ahead of me, a blank canvas with so much possibility! It’s almost overwhelming to feel the responsibility for the next year. I want to do so much, and time always seems so short. It’s hard to focus my energy on what is realistic and on what I can actually expect of myself in the year to come. There are so many unknowns and uncertainties, and without them, I know that my life wouldn’t be so rich, but I can’t plan them in or know what they hold for me.
Sitting at my desk writing this, I look up, and I see the vision board I did last year, my visual dream of what I wanted to bring into my life this year. I notice that it’s starting to feel stale, to feel like I am finished with it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been looking at that picture almost every day for the last twelve months, or maybe it’s because my vision really has changed and this is another place for me to open up to new possibilities. Either way, it really is time for me to move on with a new dream for a new journey around the sun.
A friend asked me if I wanted to do a vision board workshop, as we have done for the past couple of years, and I jumped at the opportunity. I realize that I need this just as much as I want to bring that opportunity to others. I want a new vision that I can dream about and plan for and start acting on so that I can continue to grow and become my best self. I invite you to join me in making a vision board of your own. Sit down with your own materials or find a workshop in your area and dream big about what you want to make of 2015. See how much of your dream you can make come true!
To find out details about our vision board workshop on January 3, please go to http://mantiscounselingandcoaching.org/
