Life is a picnic

A picnic lunch does not magically transform inside the picnic basket. You eat the lunch you pack.

~Hilarion 

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Many of us dream of the future and then are disappointed at the way our lives turn out. We have high hopes, yet somehow life doesn’t seem to deliver what we want. How is it that our hopes and wishes seem to degrade into more of life as usual? What is going wrong?

Here’s the rub: Nothing is going wrong. Our thoughts and actions simply aren’t in line with our dreams and desires. We have ordered up a gourmet life meal and only are willing to invest fast food beliefs and effort.

Life dishes up events to us based on our beliefs and resultant thoughts. Our thoughts drive our actions, so we experience what we believe to be true. The issue isn’t that our dreams are too big; the issue is that our imagination and willingness are too small.

Let’s imagine we want to go on a special picnic with amazing food. If we want to have an overall wonderful experience, we’ll choose a picnic basket with care. We’ll equip it with colorful plates, napkins, and silverware. We’ll select delicious sparkling beverages and plan our menu with care—piquant appetizers, a salad or two, a savory main course, fresh fruit, and of course, desserts. We’ll be thoughtful and selective about what we pack in the picnic basket, to maximize our enjoyment.

Now let’s imagine we haphazardly toss a couple of bottles of water in a dented cooler and along with some plastic tableware and a few paper towels. We’ll add a couple of quick sandwiches made with whatever we have in the refrigerator—peanut butter and jelly is likely—and  toss in an old candy bar or partial bag of chips for good measure. The lunch will fill us up, but it won’t generate much excitement.

The point is that we experience life commensurate with our investment into it. When we mindfully build our existence through selective thoughts and actions, we ensure our life banquet is consistent with our dreams. When we stumble through each day randomly reacting to events, we end up eating life’s leftovers.

That’s not to say most events in our lives should be pre-planned. That level of control is impossible and certainly undesirable. It would leach all the magic and joy of surprise out of existence. However, we can impart an overall theme to our lives by harmonizing our beliefs, thoughts, and actions. This will ensure  we don’t send mixed messages about what we enjoy to the universe.

Let’s take a few minutes to consciously connect with our inner divinity—our sharing within—to learn how to more keep our beliefs, thoughts, and actions in tune with our dreams. We’ll start by relaxing our breath and letting it become regular and gentle. We also will picture our sharing within as a globe of golden light in the center of our heart region. Inhalation builds a strong steady glow of loving heart light within us. Exhalation extends that love light throughout us and our environment.

We will continue the rhythmic breathing and light visualization until we sense conscious connection with our sharing within. We’ll know it has been established when we feel even, peaceful, and centered.

We’ll ask our sharing within to show us where our beliefs, thoughts, and actions are inconsistent with our desires. Perhaps we long to have a loving relationship with a partner, but somehow always push others away. Perhaps we dream of a career as an actor, but take no steps to gain training or experience in acting. Perhaps we wish to own a cottage on a lake, but gamble away most of our extra money. Whatever we are shown, we’ll trust the information is helpful and accurate for us.

Next we’ll ask to understand the underlying belief that drives out self-sabotaging behavior. Perhaps we don’t believe we deserve lasting love. Perhaps we believe we lack the talent needed to act on stage. Perhaps we believe life has a habit of snatching away what we most want. Again, we can be assured the input we receive is perfect for us.

We also will ask our sharing within for an affirmation to help keep us on track with our desires. Perhaps it is “I love myself and find joy with a committed partner.” Perhaps it is “I’m a talented actor who enjoys performing in public.” Perhaps it is “It’s fun and easy to build savings to purchase of a lake cottage.”

Now we’ll ask to be shown one small action we can take today to build toward our dream. Perhaps we’ll make a list of traits we wish to embody and also want to attract in a mate. Perhaps we’ll research amateur theater groups in our area. Perhaps we’ll put a dollar in a piggy bank for our vacation home.

Finally, we’ll thank our sharing within for helping us target our dream through consistent beliefs, thoughts, and actions. We’re grateful that our choices today have lasting influence. Isn’t it fun to pack the picnic lunch of our dreams?

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Divinely unique and beautiful reader, what do you choose to put in your picnic basket? Please share…

One Reply to “Life is a picnic”

  1. Thank you Hilarion. I am on the path to promote my book, Naturally, She’s Dreaming. Your writing gave me some more to think about.

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