Happy Daydreaming

When I was 7 all I wanted for Christmas was a pretty pink bike. All of my friends had bikes and I hated running beside them when we went to the park. So I wished and hoped and prayed I’d get one from Santa.

Just the thought of getting a brand new bike made me incredibly happy. I thought of all the places I could ride it, all the ways I’d decorate it and how cool I’d look sitting on that pink banana seat with silver streamers dangling from the handlebars.

Looking back it’s amazing how the thought of that bike made me feel. I could “see” myself on it and I loved imagining riding it up and down the sidewalk.

Then reality set in. After writing Santa a detailed description of my pink beauty and telling my mom about my dream bike every waking hour for two months I got a horrible wake up call. She explained that Santa had to bring gifts for all 7 of us and he might not have room on his sleigh for my bike.

I was devastated. At that very moment I knew I had to take matters into my own hands. There was no way Santa would let me down. It just wasn’t possible and the thought of not getting what I really, really wanted broke my little heart. I quickly ran to my secret hiding place (the tiny bedroom closet I shared with my 3 sisters) and cried myself to sleep on a mountain of uncomfortable shoes.

When I woke up I had a brilliant idea and started a letter writing campaign to Santa and his boss – God. Being a good Catholic school girl meant I knew a few people who had a direct pipeline to the big man upstairs. I began with Sister Henry. I was terrified of her. She was an extremely tall woman with a huge wart on her nose (I kid you not). When I approached her desk to ask how I could ask God for something I really, really wanted, I instantly knew I made a huge mistake.

She didn’t utter a word. Her silent stare sent shivers down my spine and I slowly backed away from her desk. I couldn’t believe a nun would refuse to tell me how to communicate with God.

On to plan B.

I tried several ways to make my dream of owning that bike a reality and every failed attempt left me heartbroken. The only thing that made me happy was imagining riding it Christmas morning. And that’s just what I did. I gave up scheming and kept dreaming. Every spare moment was spent imagining how great it would feel to ride it as fast as I could all over Hamlin Street.

Once I realized I couldn’t force Sister Henry or Father Bava to put in a good word with the man upstairs I felt better. I knew I couldn’t force Santa to bring it to me and that I couldn’t buy if for myself.

At a young age I decided to do what made me happy and that was daydreaming about how great I would feel riding that bike.

The point is that we all long for something. We all want that one thing or person to just magically appear in our lives right about now. We love the ultimate hook-up or a sure fire way of getting what we want. Yet sometimes imagining how happy we will be once we get that desired thing, or imagining we already have it is all we can do because it might not be time for it to come to us. Or it could be that the object of your desire will be even better than you imagined and the wait will have been well worth it.

What is it that you really want?

What have you tried and tried and tried to get without any success?

Perhaps letting go and living with the thought of having it will bring it to you much quicker than all the scheming and pushing that has left you brokenhearted and sad.

I think if you stop trying to force it into existence it might show up just like my beautiful pink bike did all those years ago.

That Christmas we all got bikes and rode them until we were nearly frostbitten. It’s still one of my favorite childhood memories.

Go ahead and dust off a few of your dreams.

Imagine them effortlessly coming into your life and feel what it’s like to already have it. Allow yourself to embrace every nuance of this thing. It even helps to write it down somewhere and then release the outcome to the universe, or whomever you believe will deliver what you really, really want.

Just think how happy this will make you. I know I have a few dreams yet unfulfilled and would love for you to share yours with me on my blog.

Happy daydreaming!