Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 15 : Winter 2013 | Page 80

been more than three years since I wrote about my old lady, hot air balloons, marching band dream. During that time, I’ve fantasized about watching this story in a theater or on television. I can see this so clearly that it’s almost as if it’s already happened. Nevertheless, no matter how strong my desire is, all I have is ink on paper as long as my script is held hostage in the dark recesses of my file cabinet. But I wasn’t prepared to be a dweller in the world of screenwriting. I wasn’t even awake when the idea unfolded in front of me. So where do I begin making this dream a reality? This question of “Where do I begin?” has repeatedly gotten in the way of progress…until recently. About a year ago, my dear friend and colleague, Alli, introduced me to vision boards while we were exploring new ideas for Cary Medical Center’s Ladies Land Cruise and Healthy You program. A vision board, she explained, is a tool people can use to assess what they really want and help them focus on achieving it. Jackpot! I plunged into learning all I could about vision boards. What I discovered was both highly inspirational and somewhat mysterious. A visions board, also known as a dream board, vision map, or treasure board, is a collage of images, pictures, and words that represent your dreams and desires. The theory is that by focusing on the things you want to accomplish or acquire you start to attract those exact things into your life. It’s a tool stemming from the “law of attraction”. 80 WINTER 2013 Essentially, this ancient law states that you become what you think about most. (It is my opinion that applying lessons based on the law of attraction does not replace any religious or cultural beliefs. The Healthy You mission is to promote physical, mental, social, and spiritual wellbeing. A vision board is just one tool to help people focus on any or all of these four levels of health; in harmony with one’s own principles.) In my quest for knowledge on this subject, I stumbled across a movie called “The Secret” and a book of the same name by Rhonda Byrne. Both are based on the law of attraction and claim that positive thinking leads to positive results. While this claim is considered controversial largely due to its lack of scientific evidence and critics are quick to point out that there are sometimes unavoidable and uncontrollable factors that determine a person’s circumstance, I found that “The Secret” presented some fascinating ideas, including: ~ what you are thinking and feeling today is creating your future; ~ when your instincts tell you an opportunity has presented itself, it is your job to seize the moment; ~ visualize the future you want and take time to feel excited about what you see; ~ have unwavering confidence that your dreams are achievable;