Three Wishes
Posted: Friday, August 05, 2011
by Heidi Cornelissen
Completely Human
Take a walk through the corridors of your imagination.
You’re strolling along a quiet beach at the end of a frustrating day. You leave the sandy stretch and venture into the bushy area. This is where you come across an unexplored, yet inviting cave. You bravely venture into the quiet darkness and trip over an old genie lamp that hasn’t been touched for hundreds of years.
“Success, happiness and love!” you quickly respond, thinking your answer is clever enough to cover almost everything.
Whop! Whop! Whop! In front of you, appear a Ferrari (success), a puppy dog (love) and a 3D TV screen with unlimited sports channels (happiness)!
Oops? Do these meet your needs?
The genie has delivered things to you from his understanding and interpretation of these concepts. He has acted from his own set of beliefs, desires and needs and not yours.
So – let’s start again.
What would you ask for?
Your answer probably still falls into one of these categories:
- Success,
- Love and/or
- Happiness
Yes – the genie can’t get confused now, but how long before you tire of these things and need another genie to appear to offer you more ‘stuff’? Doing it this way means this could potentially become an endless cycle with ongoing wishes. Do you think you’ll know when you’ll be able to actually utter the following words?
- “I am successful”
- “I am loved”
- “I am happy”
So – let’s discuss these terms (success, happiness and love) more comprehensively.
- What do you envision receiving for each of these options?
- How does your life change with each?
- What does your new life look like with success, love and happiness?
Make your new definitions of success, love and happiness self-empowering, fulfilling and relevant for you.
It is often said that success is not the key to happiness, but that happiness is the key to success. If you love who you are and what you’re doing, you will be successful and happy. Simply put, this means living life the way you want to, from a place of self-acceptance and self-love.
The three concepts are interrelated but unique each of us.
Stephanie Dowrick says, “Happiness is created through countless choices made and then made again throughout a lifetime. You are its host as well as its guest. You give it form, shape, individuality, texture, tone. And what it allows you to give can change the world. Happiness can be stillness, but it isn’t still. It wraps, enchants, heals, consoles, soothes, delights, calms, inspires and connects.”
Take the time and work out what these concepts mean for you. Listen to your own inner guidance system (the soft, gentle loving voice as opposed to the harsh self-critic). Get help doing this if needed. The reward for understanding this is feeling engaged with how you want to move forward with your life, enjoying ongoing and lasting success, love and happiness.
Ralph Waldo Emerson summarises things nicely with a great combination definition.
“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.”
[published 11/30/1905 in the Lincoln (Kansas) Sentinel - an adaptation of this is often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, though nothing like it has been found in his writings.]
Heidi Cornelissen is a life coach based in Perth who specialises in personal freedom and authenticity.
Her passion is helping you engage with who you really (authentically) are.
This involves self-awareness, connection with - and ultimately loving who you are, without need for pretence.
For more information and resources, visit http://www.completelyhuman.com.
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