"Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
There's a potent energy when we gather the things we love in one place -- even if they're just pictures of the real thing. For some time now. I have been curious about a new (to me) social media site called Pinterest. It was a collage of dazzling photographs that showed up on my Facebook news feed one day that did it.
So I signed up.
But I still didn't get it. It took a while to figure out what this site does exactly, how it works and why it's so popular. Is it a place to sell products? Is it an online catalog of some kind? Is it for people with nothing better to do? I couldn't tell.
Turns out Pinterest is a place to organize what you love through pictures and share it with others. It's a personalized online gallery that you decorate and populate with things, places and ideas that interest you.
My first "pinboard" morphed into another as I began to group my favorite images of cozy and sparkling home spaces, simple organizing solutions, dreamy landscapes, guilty pleasures, inspiring books and amazing art. From photographs that make me gasp out loud to cartoons that make me laugh out loud, I have created a virtual home for things and places that lift my spirits and lighten my load.
Years of space clearing have taught me that there is a potent energy when we gather the things we love in one place, even if they're just pictures of the real thing. Making ideal image boards online or on paper gives us an opportunity to regroup and "re-member" in the truest sense of the word: to call back the parts of ourselves that have been scattered or gone missing. For me personally, I am soothed and expanded simply by steeping in beauty and moving it around.
I have since created several pinboards on Pinterest which I'm calling my "spacious" series. Spacious Home is a pastiche of nourishing home spaces, quirky shabby chic décor (my favorite) and a colorful splash of decorative pieces that I can enjoy without ever having to clean or polish or make room for in my house. Spacious Solutions is there to inspire new life and purpose to useful household objects gathering dust in the basement. Gorgeous photographs that transport me to places exotic and sublime go into my Spacious Wonder board. For all things delicious, divine, and drool-worthy -- from succulent meals to spectacular mountainside retreats -- there's Spacious Pleasures. For art that moves me, television shows that keep me on my toes, and messages that remind me not to take myself too seriously, I have boards for those too.
You might consider creating a few image boards of your own if you like...
- pictures
- raising your energy level
- seeing everything in one place
- visualizing or acting "as if"
- setting intentions and anchoring your deepest desires
- getting clear on what you do love, want, or need
- organizing, and/or the idea of being organized
- the idea of making a change but cannot see a way to make it happen
- having fun designing the life you want...
Start by gathering images that make your heart sing. Look at them every day for at least a minute. Imbibe their energizing power and beauty...
And watch what happens when you allow the reflections of your best self to work their magic.
Stephanie Bennett Vogt, MA, is the founder of SpaceClear and the author of Your Spacious Self. Her "Spacious Self" image boards can be seen on Pinterest here.