So what does it look like, this life you would have in an ideal world? What can you see, hear, feel, taste, smell when you think about what you’d most like in the entire world? Can you picture it clearly inside your head?
Good, let’s make it into a Hollywood film then, in Technicolor, with surround sound, full of just about every good thing you can imagine, as vivid and fat and rounded as you can. Just don’t get too attached to a particular outcome, that’s all – Hollywood scriptwriters frequently rewrite on a daily basis when they are in the thick of a film, and so should you! And I know you’re wondering how do you do that... Well, shall we take me as an example?
I want a life filled with light, laughter and love, and every day I imagine myself standing in a large, airy room, with lots of light and billowing white curtains. I can smell fresh air, not car fumes, and although I can’t see the view, I can see the blue sky. I can hear the children’s voices behind me and they are laughing together. I’m feeling great, I know I’m looking great, and I’ve no aches or pains, in fact I’m shimmying a little to the sound of my favourite music filling the room and I can see my wonderful man standing there near me, smiling, his eyes warm with love. I can see my pinboard on the wall and it’s crammed with letters from people to me, thanking me for being in their lives, for helping them change their lives, with photographs of me and my girls, my man and my family and friends, all looking happy, and odds and scraps of meaningful stuff I’ve picked up over the years.
I feel happy, safe and secure. And blessed.
If I look down I can see a pile of books, books that I’ve written or edited, piled high by my side. Now that sounds pretty full and precise doesn’t it? But I don’t know where I am, or what sort of books they are. I don’t know how old the children are. But I know that’s my future life, my life full of light, laughter and love, because that’s where I’m going, what I’m aiming for. I just don’t know what precise form it’ll take yet, and it’ll probably be better than I can possibly imagine just right now...it’s certainly changed from what I imagined it would be like a year ago! Because I add to it regularly, tweak it and alter it as life ebbs and flows, and because I haven’t attached it to a particular place or time, I can remain flexible about how I achieve it and whom I achieve it with. But the children’s voices are still young, so I know I want this to happen within the next couple of years. And because I’ve let my Fred dig a groove for me towards that goal, I’m always picking up on stuff that moves me towards it, so I’m pretty sure it’ll happen much sooner than that!
Oh, it’s all gravy, baby!