Take Your Checklist of Worries to the CEO of Happiness

One day, as I walked down the street, there suddenly appeared in my mind's eye the image of God as CEO of a major corporation. He was sitting behind a huge old-fashioned desk and on the desk was an equally old-fashioned intercom. He said to me, "Okay, what can I do for you today?" I was very surprised and answered, "I don't know. I guess I have a lot of problems." God said, "Like what?" "Well," I said, "I'm really worried about my mother." He leaned over and, as he pressed a button on the intercom, said, "Geriatrics, what's going on with her mom?" An efficient voice very quickly answered, "We're taking care of it, God. Tell her not to worry." As he straightened up, God asked me, "What else?" I didn't have to think long before I said, "Well, I need a job." Again, he leaned over and pressed the button on the intercom. "Personnel?" "Yep, we've got something in the works. Tell her to relax —she'll have one soon." God sat up and said, "What else?"

And so it continued with all of my problems spoken and God having a department to take care of each one. When they were all dealt with, God asked, "Is there anything else?" I was at the very bottom line of my fears and said, "I'm afraid to fail, afraid to succeed, afraid to live and afraid to die." God smiled and said, "Don't worry—I'm taking care of that personally. You're safe no matter what." With all of my worries taken care of, who was I? What was my purpose? I whispered, "What am I supposed to do?" God said, "All you have to do is be happy, joyous and free—that's your job."

I felt a lightness of spirit that I hadn't felt since I was a little child. I actually began to skip down the sidewalk and stopped only because I didn't want to frighten my neighbors. I will never forget the deep sense of well-being and joy I had that morning. That profoundly healing image brought me great peace and still does.

I began to grow more comfortable using imagery as a tool to heal myself. A few months later I was having one of those days filled with frustration that make you want to scream until your teeth fly out of your mouth. I started to slip into an old pattern, pulling up the long mental list of all the bad days in my life as proof that I was a total loser. This time I had the clarity to stop myself before I got too far into the long, boring list of "poor me's." It suddenly occurred to me that I had an equally long list of good things in my life but I never thought to trot those out and dwell on them. I suddenly had a memory of an add-a-pearl necklace that a little girl in my neighborhood had received as a gift. It was just a plain gold chain, and on birthdays or special occasions people would gift her pearls to add to the chain with the hopes that someday she would have a long, beautiful strand of pearls.