Imaginarium

“To bring anything into your life, imagine that it’s already there.” Richard Bach

I think one of the major contributors to my general happiness is my ability to get tremendous satisfaction out of my imagination, or perhaps I should say my intentions. To clarify, I can imagine something that is likely to come along down the road—that I'm planning for, and working towards—and it just thrills me, and is almost as good as the real thing. My front yard will be full of giant allium flowers and chartreuse euphorbia. I can see it already, in my mind's eye, and it is BEAUTIFUL. I get less satisfaction out of thinking of a front yard full of Scottish highland steers (beautiful, yes. Likely to come along down the road, no). In this way, I'd say I'm fed more by plans than by daydreams.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Example: I replaced my washer and dryer yesterday. It was basically a non-event, because I'd known I needed a new washer and dryer since October 2016, and I'd started saving then. As soon as I set the intention, in my heart they were as good as mine . . . and, while the old ones heaved and squealed and strained along I was able to live with the ease and joy that comes from knowing solid, working appliances were in my future. 

Example: I know what color my house will be someday. I have the paint swatches picked out, they're magneted to my fridge, and they're BEAUTIFUL. Done! In my imagination, my house is basically already that color. Never mind that it might be two or four or six years before I get there, I know it will come. 

Example:  I decided I wanted a boulder in my front yard, roughly delineating the end of the driveway (for, no matter how many potted plants I line up outside, people still find ways to drive over the septic tank). I mentioned it to my mom in a, "silly me, when will I be able to afford a boulder?" way, and she showed me to a giant rock in her field that she would be quite happy to give me! It only lives an hour away, only weighs a ton and a half, and is only slightly embedded in the glacial till that forms the entirety of Whidbey Island. Voila! It's as good as mine. I love looking at the spot where it will go, thinking about the mosses and sedums that I'll cultivate in its shadow, and planning for the day when I can hire the Smitty's Towing team to move it from there to here. 

When I'm facing something big—a big deadline at work, a huge home renovation project, a daunting savings goal—I imagine the feeling I'll have when it's complete. I experience it viscerally, as though I were really living that moment. I never set out to operate this way, but it started happening to me unawares and I was eventually able to put my finger on it. Now, I notice and appreciate how often my instincts take me to that place of visualizing my success, my gratification, and my future joy. 

That's what I'm grateful for today.