Hold The Vision
You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.
- Buckminster Fuller
Just the other day on a walk with my hubby, we passed an old favorite date spot. Taylor looked longingly at the restaurant for a moment and then down at the six-feet-apart sticker markers spaced outside for takeout orders.
He asked me, “Do you think we have to just get used to all this and accept it?”
I knee-jerked. “No!” Definitely no.
Then I took a breath and a moment and considered a response that was less reaction based. Here follows what I've been musing on ever since:
In present reality - yes - of course we have to accept some new parameters. I must wear a mask inside places of business in Washington, D.C. If I want takeout from this restaurant, I need to stand on a sticker away from someone else to collect my order.
And yet...do I have to get used to this? Do I have to expect it in the future? Do I have to prepare for a dystopian reality of distance and masks and fear of a viral disease?
No.
I don’t believe I do.
And it is because our collective vision continues to create our reality.
I believe in us. I believe in creating and living a new and improved vision.
You see, we live in a very reflective Universe. If I want to believe in a friendly universe and I hold a vision for it, create more of it, and prepare to see more friendliness unfold around me well then, unfold it will.
If I believe in a hostile universe of fear and danger lurking around every corner, life will definitely bring me reasons to continue to see things that way.
And this conversation a few days ago was just the reminder I needed to remember my powers of creating. The choice is always my own.
Am I letting the winds of present-time reality direct my sails? Or am I spending a few extra moments a day visioning something better?
Am I mired in the muck of frustration of 2020 or am I using this time as a catalyst to imagine and then build a life I've always wanted - a world I've always wanted to be part of?
We know the present day world is broken on so many levels. Dwelling on that brokenness isn't going to fix it. We must find ways to build our part of the beautiful mystery of a new paradigm.
When I hold the vision, I am - on many levels - teaching myself and the world around me the mold within which I would like to live.
When we hold a positive vision together, the results are multiplied.
We can start with anything. For me personally I've been working on the following.
A vision for a new home with all the trappings of what we want: big yard, beautiful space and light, gas stove, etc.
A vision of structures to spend more time teaching and writing: finding the perfect Montessori-trained nanny.
A vision of growing a vegetable garden.
A vision of people thinking critically about what health and vitality really means for them and their families.
A vision to travel to some incredible new domestic and international places.
A vision of big dinner parties.
A vision of taking packed classes at my favorite yoga studio.
A vision of teaching big groups around the world digitally and in person.
A vision of my baby happily playing at the park. Kids, picnics, dogs, big smiles all around.
A vision of more neighborly communities. Where we know and hang out with and even help one another.
A vision of agriculture that works with the land organically and lovingly.
A vision of incredible support for new mamas.
A vision of children everywhere free, nourished, loved.
A vision of cleaner oceans, drinking water, and air.
A vision of meditation and emotional resilience being taught in schools and practiced in workplaces around the globe.
A vision of connecting with other cultures in a way that respects our shared humanity and home.
Some of the most incredible and memorable movements come from dreams and visions (hello, Dr. King) and the best plans are laid down first in the imagination, then brought into a 3-dimensional reality.
Visioning is the first step of building.
You can vision in the shower. Or when you meditate. You can vision in line at the grocery store or as you put your baby to sleep (one of my personal favorite places). You can vision anywhere, anytime.
So, I ask you:
What’s your personal vision?
What’s your vision for a new earth?
May we remember to hold the vision each and every day.