Taking the time to dream a little bit can set the stage for living a bigger and brighter life. A bigger and brighter life is determined by you, your comfort, your hunger for growth, and a desire to live in and leave this world better. It may seem juvenile or fruitless to have or talk about dreams, but I can guarantee you that it’s not. Having dreams expands our lives, health, and creativity; giving us something to aspire to and enjoy. A dream is merely something to look forward to. And when we live and dream in color, we give away the priceless gift of being ourselves. And what are we doing here if we’re not sharing our gifts with others?

What if, today, you could start designing a vision that contains all of the hopes, dreams, wishes, goals and gorgeous images you have bundled up and hidden in that beautiful, boundless, beating heart of yours? A vision board allows you to free-play and create what is inside of you. It needn’t be complicated or a grand vision of the future and your booming business ideas, no. That’s pressure. I mean, you can if you want to, but what I’m talking about creating are heart centered visions. Vision boards work when you focus on how you want to feel. Think colors, words that clarify, and images that inspire you to be better. A vision board can work for you much like positive affirmations - the more we say, create and do - the greater the chance we have of receiving that thing or feeling. Field of Dreams, homies, “If you build it, he will come.” I dunno who he is, but if you create, you’re gonna get. It’s how life works.

Needless to say the older we get, the less we dream and the more we plan and lament time passing by. However, buried deep inside all of us are little kids who want to let their inner freak flag fly. It can feel silly to be ourselves; to admit that we still daydream and wish - but I think it’s the only route to actually living.

Having a dream, and giving it life through pictures, is a route to creating what we want to be a part of our reality. Needless to say the older we get, the less we dream and the more we plan and lament time passing by. However, buried deep inside all of us are little kids who want to let their inner freak flag fly. It can feel silly to be ourselves; to admit that we still dream and wish - but I think it’s the only route to actually living. Expressing the fullness of our being is vulnerable and scary, but if the alternative is to keep everything inside -it’s a hard pass for me.

Are you ready to receive and have some fun getting there?

***Last night, over hot cocoa and with a heating pad on my uterus (yay, ovulation), I made my list and vision based on two poignant questions - who do I want to be and how do I want to feel?***

I read the following line recently: “Focus more on who you want to be than on what you want to do.” I couldn’t help but think of my man, Ralph Waldo Emerson, with whom I spent much time in college. Emerson is quoted to have said, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” My advice, and I think RWE would tell you this too (in case you needed a published writer to tell you), try creating your vision board from a space of feeling and journey. Too obscure? Think about this, Who do you want to be? How do you want to feel?

Last night over hot cocoa, with a heating pad on my uterus (yay, ovulation), I made my list and vision based on two poignant questions - who do I want to be and how do I want to feel? What I created was less about money and this strong vision of a particular ego based future THAT TINA WANTS because I’m now open to what the universe has in store. In the last two years I learned that the game of life is not about what TINA WANTS, it’s about listening, what can teach Tina, being guided, present, feeling and trusting my intuition. I DRANK THE WOO WOO, friends!

That said, I kept my vision board simple with words, colors that evoke love and soft emotions, places that remind me I want to be of service, and lifestyle images that represent a healthy, strong and confident vibe. Photos that remind me of my faith, a desire to be balanced, financially independent, able to live and work in different places and be available for my family and friends. I want to be a person with a fully present life who feels at home with herself and her choices. It only took me 22 years and some therapy to get here. Not too much therapy, maybe 9 years in total, along with reading some really fabulous self-help books.

Now, let’s get started!

To simplify making your vision board I am going to go ahead and recommend that you create a digital vision board via Pinterest. I’ve been somewhat of a nomad over the last two years, and as much as I love collaging, cutting, pasting and mounting - I like having my visions right on my computer where I am doing most of my work and writing these days. When I’m feeling down, I can easily look at my computer, go to Pinterest, take a quiet moment and add pretty photos to my vision board - allowing my dreams to resurface. I like the portability and ease. I love the feeling of a book, the smell, and the weight of holding it in my hands, but carrying 12 books to and from Mexico with 10 journals full of thoughts gets quite heavy. Going digital can be a wonderful, creative option for reading and holding your vision close. I also recommend this route since collaging and cutting can seem like too much work and preparation. This is a great first step to sitting and thinking about your vision with no supplies needed - just you, your computer, your vivid imagination and heart.

How to Make a Digital Vision Board (it’s simple, so no excuses)

Get a sheet of paper or notebook and answer the following two questions in list form, single words, or through free writing
1. Who do I want to be?
2. How do I want to feel?
Go to Pinterest and create a login (if you don’t already have one)
Add a board and name it
Let your daydreaming begin by adding images, statements, pops of color and anything that delights you to see and feel

Get inspired. Get lost in the act of creating like a child. Stare out the window, take a break from work, allow yourself to drift and fantasize for one moment. Step in to your heart. Take a long look at your kiddo, if you have one, and observe their bizarre behavior, and I don’t give a shit mannerisms that include knowing you will clean their poop and still love them as they wobble while they walk and fall over. If you don’t have a kid, think about, I dunno, steamy sex, travel, rainbows, rolling on the grass, and your own childhood (caution: not the traumatic parts).

Remember being a kid? When days felt long and the sun touched your skin when you ran outside in the summer. You danced under cotton candy skies as you skipped, played, pantsed a buddy and then got called in for dinner. You dreamed as you gazed up at the stars and giggled as your neighbor mooned you for the very first time (that’s true for me, thanks Michael Russo). You secretly stayed up late to read a new library book or watch Arsenio to see Jodeci perform Lately while your best friend laid next to you under a fluffy comforter. Anything was possible and life felt good.

While you create, go there. Go to that place of imagination. Sink into your feelings. One of the best things about teaching is the boundless creativity and uninhibited candor I experience when I am in the classroom having conversations, discussing books, making art and just being with them. Go be with yourself, it’s not nearly as scary as you think it may be.

Don’t forget, life is your classroom, and it’s never too late to dream or create a vision of how you want to feel.

2024 Digital Vision Board