Modern life is filled with opportunities to dream.
From childhood to adolescence, graduation onto adulthood, through careers, marriage, growing families, even into middle-age and empty nesting - what would our dream life look like at age 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80? In this dream, who would we surround ourselves with and what experiences would best support our journey?
Yet, within Western culture, dreaming is often discouraged, or even frowned upon. Instead, we are conditioned to attain. We navigate each stage or threshold as if it is a stepping stone, directing us toward the next achievement.
In contrast, cultures from around the globe and across time have held an antithetical view of dreams and thresholds. Ceremonies were held to honor rites of passage and support the transformation required to easily navigate from one life stage to the next — with vision, empowerment, a sense of community, and a deep connection to a higher power. Along with ceremony, many cultures participated (and continue to participate in) the vision quest — an age-old ritual for connecting with Spirit to find our deepest purpose. Such traditional practices transcend the stepping stone mentality, as they foster the creation of a detailed map to guide us toward where we want to grow, how we want to feel, who we want to become, and why we have these desires.
For those of us who have whizzed past multiple thresholds, with little more than a wayward glance, do not have access to ancestral practices, or simply have not realized life could be different when lived in alignment with a personal vision, it is never to late to re-calibrate the compass and set sail in a slightly different or completely new direction!
“You are never too old to dream a new dream.”
C.S. Lewis
A personal vision is our dream, our purpose for being. It is the reason we jump out of bed in the morning, ready to step into a new day. Our vision defines who we want to be, what we want to be known for and what set of experiences and accomplishments we aim to gain. A vision is the yin and yang of living life on purpose.
The yin and yang elements are both interdependent and complimentary of one another; one will jump-start the other. When we find the motivation to change (yang — goal oriented), we’re inspired to create a vision (yin — process-oriented). Or, when we dream a vision into being (yin — receptive), we have a reason to learn how to change (yang — determined).
Our vision becomes our “why”, the North Star guiding all major decisions and actions. After all, we would not steer north if we departed Seattle, intent on reaching Hawaii!
Which leads to the question…
How do you want to feel?
Who do you want to be surrounded by?
What do you believe you are capable of?
What could you contribute to the world, that aligns with how you want to feel?
When you die, how do you want to be remembered?
Asking any of these questions is the first step to defining your vision. These are the questions I return to when I’m facing a major decision or struggling with a daily goal or habit change (yes, this happens to me, too…). Why? Because a compelling vision provides clarity for the future, while directing us to place our attention in the present. It will assist in shedding all that holds us back, and most importantly, it will illuminate our way in periods of darkness and inspires us to focus on what truly matters.
“Sheer life cannot be said to have a purpose because look at all the different purposes it has all over the place. But each incarnation, you might say, has a potentiality, and the mission of life is to live that potentiality.
How do you do it? My answer is, ‘Follow your bliss.’”
