Kindling the Sparks of Vision
The midlife experience for women might be described as "Life
Reinvention 101." We've come through the first half of our lives
having done what we've done, learned what we've learned, and
been who we've been. We understand it is up to us, to a large
degree, what the second half of our lives will be. We might
redefine in huge broad strokes, or we might simply fine tune.
But there is a sense of urgency. Barbara Scher captures it in
the title to her ovular (not seminal!) book about creating the
second half of life: "It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start
Now."
One of the ways to "start now" is to kindle the sparks of your
vision. Whatever dream you see for yourself, nurture it. Allow
yourself to move in that direction. If it isn't right for you,
you will know it. As you move forward, more of your vision will
come clear. Taking action will result in your greater clarity
about what's for you.
You may have only inklings and inclinations right now - that's
fine! Honor yourself by nurturing them. Feel inclined to take a
comparative spirituality course? Do it! Curious about Tai Chi?
Try it! Psyched to learn how to cook with kale? Borrow a good
cookbook.
Or you may have a great deal more than inklings. You may know
you want to start a foundation or a theater troupe. You may know
you need to work on solving the world hunger problem. You may
know you have to live at the ocean now.
Wherever you are in your own process of nurturing your vision,
consider these suggestions as ways to support you in your
process.
1. Create a visual expression of the dream and place it where
you can see it daily. Part of my vision for myself is to further
develop my work as a coach, writer, and speaker and to reach a
greater level of prosperity through it. My own coach gave me a
beautiful bamboo plant, a symbol of prosperity. Seeing this
lush, beautiful bamboo in my office every day keeps the spark of
that dream glowing for me, and inspires me. The bamboo also
reminds me that my coach is holding my vision with me; I feel
supported. What is your dream? How can you create a visual
expression of it?
2. Declare your intention. Say it out loud several times a day,
for yourself, in the form of an affirmation. Speak it to your
friends. Making a declaration is itself an action that can be
very powerful. Be open to the ideas that come into your mind
when you declare your intention. You may tap into intuitive
information you would be wise to act on. Trust yourself to know.
3. Protect your dream; it is a fragile organism when it's new.
Just as you would protect a newborn baby from danger and harm,
or a tulip shoot just peeking out from the soil - protect your
vision from harm. Do not expose it to the kind of people my
daughters call "dreamkillers." You know who I mean. When you say
"I'm training for the AIDS Ride, they say, "Isn't it a lot of
work to raise all that money?" When you say, "I'm cutting back
my hours at the office so I can spend more time painting," they
say, "Aren't you afraid they'll find someone full time to
replace you?" It's better not to declare your vision to people
like this, certainly not at this stage in the life of your
dream. Share it with people who are likely to say things like,
"Great!" or "How can I support you in that?" or "I can totally
see you doing that. What a great idea!"
4. Keep moving! Stay in action, taking steps toward your vision.
The steps can be as small as looking up a website, or as large
as writing up a plan for your new business. What's important is
that you stay in action. Each next step you take will bring you
to a new location where you can see a landscape you couldn't see
before you took the step. There is new information for you here,
feedback for you to process. Let it in and let it inform your
next step.
The sparks of your vision can lead to the roaring flames of a
great new adventure. Trust the process and have faith in
yourself. Enjoy your journey!
If you're considering hiring a coach to help you on your
journey, contact me at sharon@stcoach.com for an initial
consultation at no charge.
Copyright 2003 Sharon Teitelbaum. All rights reserved.