4 Years ago my world was turned upside down. I was in the midst of a divorce, with a 3 year old daughter, who I had to leave with my parents, in another city, so that I could salvage some form of a future for us. Fortunately for us, my boss was compassionate enough to take me back into my previous position of employment, in order to help me find my feet again.
This moment for me was the most humbling experience. I discovered what true friendship was and the importance of what responsibility and support actually mean. I came to understand what heartache, breakdown and loneliness were. But in order to transform and to truly know the reasons for existence, I believe one needs to be at their most vulnerable point.
Once I understood that loneliness was something that I could embrace and master instead of fear, an incredible sense of peace entered my life. To be alone in a space and time allows one the freedom to really understand oneself and become the master of your own destiny. Its in spaces like these that you come to realise that everything happens for a reason.
Francesca was 4 years old when I decided to help both her and myself transform a very difficult time into a positive exciting adventure. Our life adventure. Our dream. It’s common knowledge that Vision boards are the most wonderful life tools. They are a fun way to help get the creative juices flowing. So, I thought this could be a fun exercise for us to do together. It’s never too soon to start dreaming…
We gathered old magazines or went online to find images and pictures that made us feel happy, excited, peaceful or free. We began cutting out images, words, and quotes together and started feeling really happy for the first time. The wonderful thing about this process is that you can be silly with it. Cut out the Golden Yacht and the Space craft to the moon pictures, place them all to one side, together with the words ”happiness is freedom” or “magical moments” or “ Colour is everything”. Whatever shouts to you from the page. And just as I do in a design concept, we began our own collage of the images we liked on our own boards. The best part is that you can decorate it with peacocks and unicorns, which my daughter did. The point was that the creativity was allowing us to shift out of a negative space and into a positive understanding of intention and creation.
Then hang the board up on a wall in your bedroom or in your office. If you have more than one- brilliant!. One board can be about your dream destinations, travel and homes that you see yourself living in, another can be for things you dream of owning like a car or a yacht or a company. One can be for career or lifestyle or even just transformation of your living room. All the things that you dream about and would love to have in your life. An idea that got lost along the way in your busy lifestyle. Cut it out, paste it on.
Look at your board every day, when you wake up or before you go to bed and read over the quotes and words. Then show gratitude to yourself for your creation as a daily affirmation, for example: “thank you that I am a creative, successful entrepreneur. Who is a caring mother and partner to her family. Thank you for my beautiful mansion in the South of France and for my graceful yacht that sails my family frequently along the Mediterranean coastline. Thank you that I am so blessed with love and happiness in my life.” This is a wonderful exercise to do for yourself or even at the office with your colleagues. We are currently living in a world where most people are searching for a reason to feel special or recognised or even heard. And this is the most amazing tool for self realisation.
The magic in this process is truly experienced when you start to see these visions actually manifest, and sometimes in the most understated and truly enjoyable ways. Since we did this exercise times have have changed so much you cannot even begin to imagine. We moved houses, moved schools, moved places; only because bigger and better opportunities presented themselves. However, I did find that we ended up packing the boards into boxes and they ended up in the garage as things sometimes do. But then I found them the other day and this is what I realised.
Today, I find myself as the owner of a company that inspires and inspire growth in not only me, but many clients and people that work with me. And creatively every day, I’ve been able to independently raise and provide for both my beautiful daughter and myself in ways that make me so proud to be a parent and a single woman. We are living in the place of our dreams, literally between the mountains and the ocean, that both her and I decided on in the creation of one of the boards. And I only realised the other day, when looking at new vehicles for an upgrade on mine, that the one I’m getting prices on is the exact one that was on my board, three years ago.
But wait! It gets better. Francesca, at the age of 4 cut and pasted images of unicorns and bunnies, in and around farmland pictures. These all manifested- We are currently living in the winelands, she received a pet bunny for her 7th birthday and her room is decorated and filled with pink unicorns. She sees peacocks every weekend at the surrounding venues here as well as bunnies. And so far, most of the images on our boards have manifested into beautiful reality. What could be a better way to love and appreciate one’s life?
A helpful tip is to try and keep your images and wording large enough to read in order to catch your eye every day. Choose images that resonate with your being, your emotions and your aspirations. The Law of Attraction will come into play as your destiny unfolds before your eyes. Every time a dream comes true, don’t forget to acknowledge and show gratitude for all your hard work in making that dream a reality and enjoy the abundance that Life has to offer. Embrace your own creativity!
