Glass balls at Taliesin West by Frank Lloyd Wright

The “Magic Wand” Question

If you could wave a magic wand and make everything exactly as you wanted it, what would your life look like?

Would it be like your life right now?

Where would you be?

How would your morning start? What would wake you up in the morning? How would you feel when you got out of bed?

What kind of breakfast would you have?

What would you do before, during, and after breakfast?

Who is there? Or are you alone?

What’s on the agenda for today? Is it work? Is it education? Is it fun?

What are you most looking forward to about your day?

What kind of clothes are you going to put on for this day? Rugged? Pressed? Fashionable? Classic?

How does your body feel? How do you move your body? How do you feel about your body?

Is anyone depending on you today? What do they need? How do you feel about this relationship? How do you feel about providing what they need?

Are you staying home or will you travel? How far will you travel today, on this day that is exactly as you want it?

If everything was exactly as you want it, how would you want it?

This question has stumped me.

It has nothing to do with what is “realistic” – If I’ve learned anything in my short life, it’s that “reality” doesn’t exist.

In my view of the world, reality is so flexibly constructed that when I undertake this exercise, I inevitably find that the reality I would create is not just within reach, but, in many cases, is already my own reality… just one perspective shift away.

FOR EXAMPLE…

Last weekend, I realized that if I could wave my magic wand and make things exactly as I want them to be, I would be traveling, writing, photographing, videoing, and generally exploring this great world. I would be with my best friend and life partner, Russ, and we would have the unlimited love of our soft canine companions.

I would start my day having coffee outside.

I would feel creative and full of life.

I would be peaceful enough to appreciate the sunrise.

My body would be strong enough to do anything I want to do.

My work would be interesting and flexible enough to keep me engaged.

I would be contributing creatively to every encounter with every person, bringing kindness and happiness to anyone who crossed my path.

I would have time for relaxing.

I would have nourishing food that satisfied my taste and nutrition needs.

I would laugh easily at simple things.

I would create and contribute to the wonder and beauty of the world.

I would take the time to publicly acknowledge and appreciate the creative risks that others are taking, and the work that creative people are putting into the world.

And indeed, all these elements are how my life is currently going…

So Why Aren’t I Completely Happy All The Time?

When I had a lot of personal work to do – pathologies of thought and action which led to negative life conditions – it was easy to see why I wasn’t happy: My life was pretty rough. I felt bad most days because I was hung over and eating like a trash panda, carrying about 30 extra pounds and feeling like a block of clay.

These days, it’s undeniable that my life is amazing.

Yes, I would like to have a different drone camera. I’d like to travel more. I’d like to use our 5th wheel which is in the process of being renovated (by us). I’d like to go to more events locally, connect with others in the area, and expand my creative and entrepreneurial network.

But in the big scheme of things, these factors would not make me unhappy.

I’m starting to believe that perhaps there are more important things than being happy all the time.

How much of life is being 5% from our perfect situation and yet feeling dissatisfied that we’re not at 100%?

Is it even possible to be totally happy? To want nothing? Is it even a worthy goal?

I’m starting to believe there are more important things than being happy all the time.

I’d love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment and let me know the magic wand answers – if you feel like sharing – and whether total happiness is even something to aspire to?