Monday, February 18, 2008

Too much vision?

I just finished putting together a second vision board. I intended to do it over New Year's but spent too much time collecting images. I had started to examine magazines solely for their potential vision-board contributions: Glamour (cool fonts), Domino (pretty flowers and colors), Los Angeles (retro-ish fonts), New York (had a recent cover with an overhead shot of people ice skating outdoors — I loved that), Cosmo (for something spicy), O (inspirational headlines), Martha Stewart Living (photos of flowers and gatherings). I was afraid I'd miss something, so I kept perusing new issues as they arrived. It's hard not to resent magazines when they remind you of what you should be/have/accomplish on a weekly or monthly basis. So that was my sign to stop collecting and start arranging.

Surprisingly, assembling my new board didn't take much time. I threw away some of the extra images but kept stuff that I can use for the next one. Most of the images are about a quarter-page, so the board came together in less than an hour. Does this mean that I have clarity about what I want?

Another question: what do you do with "old" (as in, previous) vision boards? A lot of stuff from my first board has started to come into my life, so I don't want to jinx myself by retiring it. At some point, though, does holding on to it get a little weird? Don't sociopaths make a lot of meticulously arranged collages?

And yet it seems irresponsible or even negligent to throw it away — like giving up on my dreams. So maybe that board will stay a little while longer.

9 comments:

Aria said...

I don't think it makes you weird to hold onto old vision boards, you should- they're a part of your history and your life. I know exactly what you mean about looking at magazines purely as "vision board material". I used to do that all the time. I found this really cool website called visionboardsite.com where you can make virtual vision boards, you might wanna check it out if you don't know what to do with them when you no longer need one. It's like a slideshow with uploaded images and you can put your own music to it. Very cool!
Steph :)

Aria said...
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michelle said...

Per the advice of my organizational guru friend (to whom I have not listed, but that's neither here nor there), keeping and storing things that are important to you is just fine. If this becomes an entire room full of boxes that you never revisit, this is a problem. :)

She also suggested that if you wanted to "keep" something--while getting rid of the object itself, because it takes up too much room, etc.--you could take a photograph of it and put it in a scrapbook. As good as digital cameras are these days, you could probably take an excellent photo that you could blow up to a large size if the mood strikes. I like Steph's idea about the virtual vision board--you could take multiple shots of yours and set it to music for the sake of posterity. I have some lovely 80s music for your use. ;)

That's all I've got today.

Naomi said...

Those are great suggestions! Stephanie, have you used the website to make a board? I just got three magazines in the mail today and I can't bear to look at them. The second board is done, done, done.

I'll definitely take a photo before I dismantle the first board. I'm not quite ready to retire it (I'm feeling superstitious), but I may do both a polaroid and a digital image. Thanks, both of you, for the reassurance!

Marta said...

I just love your blog..!
And I'dd love to take a look at your book! It looks amaizing!!

Please visit my jewellery blog and give me your sincere opinion.. =)

http://www.beijoterias.blogspot.com/

Kisses from Portugal.
Marta

Marta said...

Thank you so much Naomi! =)
I'm sorry but i dindnt understand this: "I also love the stuff you do with hearts. :)"
Oh and you have on the right size a litle button that translate (But it's a automatic terrible translation, lol)but you can still read and understand some stuff i right.. =)
Thank you for your visit!! **

Aria said...

Yeah, I made one to help me lose weight for summer- it's helping me stay on track so far!! I like the website mostly because of the audio part- it really pumps me up, especially for weight loss. I love your website Naomi!!!!

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

wow I was just thinking about your board again, because it inspired my board! Things change incrementally..and a new year or season... perhaps calls for a new board, do you think? I am not the same as I was, in tiny ways now. Some are good, some not as good. I am human. I try so hard! I wish I could be more laid back. It would be great to be less overexcited all the time!

I see you as less hyped up than I, allowing some of the positive processes of your life to just make their way into your experiences naturally. That is great! what is your secret?

jean xox

Naomi said...

No secret. Or is it The Secret? It's a challenge to only put energy into things that I feel are worth my energy, but I guess that's part of the process. I can't wait to talk to you in person in NY about all of this!