imagine them happy

During a guided meditation I was led through intense feelings of love and hope. 

“Bring your attention to someone who is important to you.” 

Dad immediately popped into my mind. His laugh lines, long lashes, and beard — I saw his face vividly. 

“Imagine them happy.”

From the very depths of my soul I want him to be happy. I was filled with an overwhelming amount of emotion. My whole heart, mind, and body felt full in that moment.

“Imagine them free of suffering.”

Tears flooded me because I know how much he suffers. He’s had some awful breaks, some of which he blames himself for. He carries around the guilt like it’s his job to hold onto it with a grip so tight his knuckles turn white. He punishes himself and self sabotages. I try to tell him it’s okay to let go.

“It’s not your fault,” I tell him.

It’s okay to be happy.

“You deserve it, Dad,” I tell him.

It’s okay to just be.

But he suffers. 

And the vision of him free and happy filled me with so much joy that I felt like I was floating. I imagined his heart, his face, his life free of suffering and I didn’t want to leave that place. Once I came back to Earth my existence felt fuller like it was connected to the very center of love and hope. I so wished I could help Dad feel lighter in guilt and fuller in love for himself.

And I am a praying woman, so I prayed. Meditation and prayer go hand in hand much of the time for me. Meditation opens up the space that I need in my heart, soul, and mind to pray. It leads me to a higher place where I feel more connected to the universe, to God. 

Who comes your mind when asked to think of someone important in your life?

How does it feel to imagine them free of suffering?

What does it feel like to see them happy? 

Mediation doesn’t have to be this big thing where you have to sit in a silent room for an hour. It can just be a pause in your busy, task-filled day. A pause to imagine someone you love happy.

Feel that. Carry it with you.

If you aren’t the praying kind, then make a wish, simply think outside of yourself in the grandness or the universe and wish well the person you’re seeing in your mind. Be grateful for their existence.

Feel that. Carry it with you.