Vision

Yesterday, by the recommendation of a beloved friend, I started reading "Adventures for your Soul" by Shannon Kaiser. I admit, I was a bit skeptical about reading it, as I'm currently in a fiction kick and it is more abiding to the self-help and inspiration categories. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a read.
By the time I finished the first chapter, I had highlighted several lines and found myself relating to the words of the author more than I had expected to. Kaiser challenges readers to let go of any regard for current circumstances and dream unhindered a vision for their ideal futures.
The word vision is something I'm comfortable with. I've heard it in sermons and at conferences, I've read it in books, and I've studied it in education courses. As an adult, though, it is challenging to allow your life vision to span the widths of your imagination untouched by the chains of reality, finances, and obligations.
I thought back to when I was a young girl and teen, naive and full of unmovable optimism. I would spend hours at night (before smartphones were a thing) imagining my future. Looking back, many of my dreams came true. I imagined that I was a bit of a fashionista, that I'd do a little jet setting, that I'd have a blog, that I would be a model, that I would experience life in NYC, and that I'd study communications and media in college, and graduate. In many ways, those things did become my reality at some point in my young adulthood!
This left me feeling inspired. If all of the things I once dreamed, visualized, and envisioned eventually did seep into and materialize in my reality, can that happen now? Maybe the reason dreams stopped coming true in my life as I entered full-on adulthood is simply because I stopped dreaming.
At any rate, what do I have to lose? Kaiser suggests that readers become dreamers- spending a few minutes each day daydreaming about our personal ideal life. She encourages us to forget about the obstacles and what we don't want to happen, and to focus entirely on what we DO want in our lives.
Obviously, my dreams and desires are quite different today than they looked ten years ago. I dream of a life in a small town in the Carolinas, preferably coastal. I dream of a well-lit home with plenty of greenery surrounding. I dream of a small family, cozy couches, and quiet evenings. I dream of screened in porches, corner cafes, and community. I dream of teaching, ministering, and writing. I dream of lots of time spent outdoors, doing the things I love with people I love. I dream of living life so well, that I inspire others to do the same.
I wonder how many of us have sweet little dreams, God sized dreams, and plain old dreamy dreams tucked away in our hearts, buried under current circumstances and limitations of our own making. Maybe, we can all just forget for a moment the pressing matters of the day and spend some time thinking about what it is we really want in life, before we blink and find that it's left behind.


What better way to get this vision project started than with a vision board? Check out the Pinterest board I made to transpire and refine my desires.

​Happy Dreaming!