Visualization project

I got these albums for Christmas several years ago, I think from my Grandma.  I like them, but even after all this time, there isn't a single photo in them.

When I moved into my one bedroom apartment after divorcing 2 years ago, I had a great idea that I could use these albums for pictures of things that make me happy.  Goals, accomplishments, quotes.  Reminders of what I have and can do on my own that are worthwhile and awesome.  A chronicle of only the best parts of my life.  Not because the bad stuff isn't important, but because only the good (including good that results from bad) is worth remembering.

And still, there's not a single photo in here.  And still, it sits in my bedroom.

I just watched the documentary, "Hungry for Change," on Netflix.  One thing it talks about is the importance of visualization.  In my interpretation, it's important to imagine yourself as your ideal self.  Imagine yourself feeling good, feeling motivated, feeling joyous.  Taking time to visualize yourself exactly as you wish to be helps you make it a reality.

I realized that's totally in line with my old idea for using these albums.  It's a means for reflecting on my own personal "best of" in hopes of being my best more often.

Watched another documentary yesterday (jeez, aren't I self-helpy??) called "Enlighten Up" about a skeptical guy who agrees to practice yoga for 6 months.  The female filmmaker hopes, as I perceived it, to make a yoga-maniac out of him, but he is a bit resistant, especially to the spiritual aspects of yoga.  Near the end of the film, he visits Gurusharananda, who says that in order to find your true self, you should as much as possible get rid of what you are not.  You can watch the clip here.

The fun part is choosing which of those things in life I want to decide are "what I am not."  Which things should I try to get rid of.  The albums are a way of choosing and remembering the things in life that are important to me, gradually resulting in a clear picture of what I want and what I don't.  What I WANT will hopefully become what I AM eventually.

But let's be practical.  The reason there aren't any pictures in those albums isn't because I haven't done anything worthy in the last 2 years.  It's because I haven't printed a single picture in the last 2 years.  So, I just figured out an easy way to order prints from my phone at Walgreens.  And the visualization project begins!