How do we envision the future? By having a vision in the present. Envisioning ourselves where we want to be and bringing that vision forward into the present day. I am living near the beach in a warm climate, in a house with French doors and a sunny studio. I travel overseas often, have beautiful clothing and a garden filled with roses. Then you realise you are living that life, perhaps you even forgot that you actually brought it into reality.

Sometimes we think we have no choice in where we live, what we earn, what our job is. But there is always choice if you believe that the universe will support you, if you take the first step. And that is the hardest one because it is usually a leap of faith, a leap into the abyss.

I first encountered the power of this visioning when i joined a small group of four creative people who were setting out on Julia Cameron’s The Artists Way. This was a 12 week personal archaeological course, uncovering parts of yourself which had been hidden or lain dormant for years.

We did a vision board, a quick collage using papers torn from magazines then collaged together. It revealed many things, including my urge to artistically blossom. We then had to envision our perfect day, our perfect job, our perfect place to live. At that time my perfect day was swimming in warm water at the beach , living in a house walking distance to the beach and doing a highly creative job collaborating with other artists.

I wondered why I was living in a cold climate in high country Victoria. Within five years we had moved to northern NSW and I was working on a creative project with many different artists. Five years after that I was living within walking distance from the beach. It may seem a slow process but it did happen.

Every year or two I create a new vision board, I now have eight. They speak to me of what I hold dear, what I would like to change, where I would like to go. I forget about them for awhile and when I revisit them I see that I now have just about everything on them. It is a process which I believe in whole heartedly.

When I was talking to a man at the beach this morning, he was wishing he could live here and swim in the ocean but he lived at the Gold Coast and couldn’t move. I said there is always choice, imagine yourself living here and it will happen. Who knows I may meet him down the beach sometime in the future and his life might have turned around. He just has to believe, and envision his vision.