Remember when you were kids and how the time flew by while you played? This is where I played almost every week — Portland Head Light in Portland, Maine. You’ve probably seen this picture on several calendars. Every time I see it, I smile and in my mind’s eye, envision a bunch of neighborhood kids that my father crunched into the car to transport us to this playland of WWII bunkers and crumbling cement buildings.

Just on the other side of these buildings, cement bunkers were built into the rocks, and were fully manned at the time, keeping the Portland harbor safe from possible enemy submarines. But all we knew as kids were what a fabulous playground it made! We played hide and seek, and pretended that we were actual gunners keeping our families free from peril. It was quite exhilarating play time.

But, looking back, what I remember most vividly was the freedom we had to be wildly creative, imagining, discovering — just practicing being for who we were becoming. Now, I use the words “visioning, journeys, personal growth, strategies.” And Portland Head Light was the gift that helped me to become a potent visionary. Sometimes I ask myself if my dad had an ulterior motive for bringing us there, or did he just need some time off himself and knew that we would entertain ourselves for hours.

Whatever my dad’s reasoning was, I have him to thank for all the times he played with us and provided opportunities to create the realities that a child lives within. Regardless of how the years have passed from that time forward, it is these childhood visions and memories that propelled me into the passionate work I do now — helping others uncover those passions of yesteryear, to clarify and define next steps in life, creating the perfect plan of action to reignite steps to the next plateau.

What childhood visions will you uncover this week? I encourage you to take some quiet time and go back in memory to those times of total freedom, the afternoons at the lake, the playground, or wherever. What did you play at? What visions did you have as a child? Can you conjure up just a few thoughts and write a sentence about each one? Perhaps you will rediscover your passionate child’s vision which you will re-incorporate into the adult you, the childlike quality that will reignite your journey. I would love to know what you discover. Please stay in touch!