“I Got Everything I Wanted”
In Mexico, January 6th is recognized as “Three Kings Day,” and it’s observed by having kids make lists of wishes and wants, presenting them to the costumed Kings. Then The Kings deliver the goods and some of the wishes are fulfilled. I recently heard a client reflecting back on Christmas experiences when he was young. His face lit up as he recalled one Christmas when he’d actually received everything he’d asked for! All the items he’d circled in the catalog were there for him to open, and he was overjoyed. He felt such joy and amazement, even now recalling his feelings many years later. He said, “I got everything I wanted!”
I’m wondering if many of us have experienced the occasional joy upon having a wish fulfilled, a dream come true, an awareness of being in touch with some kind of magical universe that provides not only what we need but a bit of what we want as well? To recreate the feeling of being especially lucky or abundantly blessed, perhaps we can recall a few of those childhood moments when all the world seemed to be going our way.
It is possible to bring back that feeling even now, just as my client was able to do. Once we become aware of it, we can bring the feeling to mind whenever we want. When we’re able to welcome this feeling, we begin to notice how, even now, we can experience moments of utter joy and delight. And more moments of joy and delight, and even more.
As grownups, our wishes and wants become more practical more centered on relationships, emotions, health, finances, the factors that make for well-being. We still have that longing, the wish that things will be better, turn out right, go our way for once. Even in the throes of adult challenges, we can turn to joy. And by doing so, become even more aware of the joyful moments that ARE there for us.
Far from putting a smiley face on all of our problems, we’re able to open ourselves up to new opportunities and solutions we hadn’t even thought of before. We can begin to feel optimistic that things will work out. Optimism can become a habit! The feeling of joy and delight can become more common, not just the occasional memory from our childhoods.
Recalling a time or two when “I got everything I wanted” gives us hope and expectation that it just might happen again. Why not today? This very moment? If we look for the joy and delight, surely we will find it, often times right here and now. When this happens, we can say to ourselves, “This is what I’ve wanted, and I already have it.”