mar's Desk

marcoujor: My Vision Board

1/30/2017

I recently attended a workshop led by Carrie Sensenich, MSS, LCSW: Create Your Vision for the New Year.

Carrie introduced the concept of a vision board--a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of our dreams, goals, and things that make us happy. Creating a vision board can be a useful tool to help think about personal goals and serving as motivation in attaining our life dreams.

We were led in a guided meditation where we met our future self, ten years from now. This exercise helped me create my intention for the workshop, to create a climate of acceptance, balance and self-care.

For about an hour, we were asked to create our boards in silence. Carrie provided glue sticks, markers and a variety of magazines and affirmations that we could look through.

The beauty of this exercise is there is room for expression and individuality. Everyone fashioned the board that was perfect for them at this point in our lives.

I noticed that my board had plenty of white space. I believe this is my symbolic reminder to breathe. The pictures I selected served to accent my affirmations, which I have included here as well:

💝Find your equilibrium.

💝My independence is a sign of love and respect for myself--I love my freedom.

💝One key to knowing joy is being easily pleased.

💝I love who I am and what I do.

💝To feel and think and learn--learn always: surely that is being alive and young in the real sense. (Freya Stark).

💝I choose to feel good about myself, today and every day.

💝Ageless.

💝I am so grateful for my life! I appreciate everyone and everything.

💝I joyfully keep my inner child at the center of my being. I love and cherish my inner child.

💝I appreciate and care for my body. My cells have eternal youth.

💝The more I help others, the more I prosper and grow. In my world, everybody wins.

💝Self-love helps me make positive changes easily.

💝Stay strong.

Themes that emerged from my vision board of self-care include balance/equilibrium; strength; gratitude and wonder/curiosity.

Carrie encouraged us to reflect and journal on our self-limiting beliefs, our strengths and the development of 3-5 action steps to give life to our vision boards.

The affirmation card that I selected at the end of the workshop (face down) was profoundly applicable to me:

BOUNDARIES: "Love yourself enough to say no to others' demands on your time and energy."

This was a worthwhile and rejuvenating experience. I intend to continue looking at my vision board daily as a reminder of the importance of self-care and trusting my instincts.

I thought this classic song would be a lovely way to close this week's musings. Johnny Nash’s, I Can See Clearly Now...