There has been a lot of talk about making sure you have a vision. A vision for yourself, for your family, for your business, for your church.
The thing about visioning? We tend to actually brainstorm and strike out in a new adventure – to explore the universe without a map or without a true sense of reality.
Now, when I was younger, I loved that type of visioning. I am known for sitting at a table and asking young people what they want to be, affirming their gifts and pushing them towards the door of their dreams.
The older I get, the more caution I place on the color of the door. If it is red hot, then there may be a fire brewing on the other side. If it is ice blue, then this may end up being full of frustration. If it is flourishing green, then the path looks rosy and inviting.
The calls come from history – from memory recalled and organized. When we lose our memory (as David Timms says), we undermine community, cohesion and connection. Vision without memory recall is nothing but pursuing the next great experience or the next high.
Instead, we need to honour the past. Honour the pioneers, honour the leaders, honour the plodders, honour the artists, honour the keepers of our souls, honour those who have stitched together a past for the sake of your future.
Learn the lessons that memory teaches. Tell the stories of the past that parallel the present. And celebrate that we have a memory to serve us as we vision for the future.