the church of happy thoughts

The Church of Happy Thoughts

The One Truly Unorganized Church

Recently, I had the good fortune to make 3 wishes. I was to make one for myself, one for my family, and one for Mother Earth.

A wish sounds simple enough. People do it all the time.

birthday candles

fountains

eyelashes

So. I sat down to write my wishes.

Turns out, I have evidently forgotten how to make a wish. I'm not entirely sure I've EVER made one. A real one. An outrageous one that didn't require my doing something.

My wishes seem to be more like goals.

I could wish that I would find a publisher for my books. Well, if I sent them out to even one publisher maybe I would get one. I could wish I would someday speak to large groups of people about The Sophia Stories or my experiences with ghosts and angels. Maybe it would help if I found a publisher. Not a real wish. Seems to me.

Then, I thought, I could wish for a lover, a man in my life who is looking to carve out an unexpected life, interested in a million things and wants to wander around the world to see them and do them. A knower of God in a strictly unreligious way. A happy man. Would be good.

Well.

Honestly.

I'm not certain he exists. So, I would hate to waste a perfectly good wish. (Doesn't sound much like the minister of the church of happy thoughts...and, anyway, it's sort of a daily trust that he actually does exist, which is a happy thought in itself.)

That might be getting closer to a real wish. However, I could do something, like go online or join a fly fishing group or a trek to the Himalayas. Somewhere he might be.

The directions said: No Limitations.

What in my wildest dreams do I want?

A wish with no limitations. A BIG wish. A long and happy life. Yes, that's good. For my family, too. The directions said be specific and clear. So what's LONG? Or HAPPY?

Joyful every day? WHAAATTT?

I wish to be paid a lot of money for what I do. Still a goal.

Hmmm. Money.

That's shallow.

I began to convince myself all the virtues of money and how I wouldn't be a complete loser if I wished for money. Lots of money. Like everybody else. World peace would be the progressive thing to do, not technically a WISH. I don't think.

But, what do I know?

About wishing.

Money IS a form of energy. Not inherently good or bad, a vehicle for possibilities, that's noble, it's creation sprang from the desire to exchange goods and services in a brilliant sort of way, free trade, that's a good thing. It has value in our world. Love that. Like a kind and trusting person, it can be exploited. Yes. There is that dark side.

Maybe I could give money a better name by not being greedy. That's a noble cause.

It's pieces of paper and metal round things for heaven's sake. It actually doesn't have the power we give it.. does it?

Well. The directions didn't say make a goal and it didn't say create a noble cause. It said make a wish.

So.

I wished for a million dollars.

And felt pretty great about it. I imagined the Sophia Stories out in the world, my family brought together often from across the country with friends and music and a big fire and roses on the table and food from our garden and wine from our friends' vineyard. And laughing. Lots of laughing. And the good and noble causes I could so happily support. The babies I would have time to hold and the children I could help feed and offer a glimmer of hope. I began to feel very good about it.

Just having the thoughts is a good thing. A very good thing.

So, I did what anyone would do, I wished for a million dollars for each of us. Everyone in my family. My wish for them, too.

Now. That's a wish. A real wish. Why not 10 million? THAT sounded greedy. ha ha.

For the planet, I wished for true love. That SHE, one day, would be more important than money. Way more important.

My family and I, we have true love. Lots of it. I wish for them to marvel always. At the beauty in the precious gift we've been given here on earth, the sun the moon the stars, all of it. And each other.

I also wish to have a horse. Ha. Which I can have with a million bucks. That was my one annual wish as a young child. I could see the barn, the coral, the happy horse waiting for me in the 10 foot space between my house and the next.

I'm the girl who believed she could have a horse.

Still am.

A million bucks it is.

To wishing and all the reasons why,

Julie

the church of happy thoughts

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

A Day at the Beach