The good life.

Conjures up images of ease, of wealth, of sunny beaches and shiny cars. Adventure and good food, silk, perfectly clean and airy tropical hotel suites, impossibly beautiful clothes and bodies and teeth and hair. Expensive bags, chip-free manicures, hammocks by the ocean, and endless summers.

Or perhaps its more simple. Perhaps it is a farmhouse in provence, giggling children playing in the grass as you sip your perfect wine, eat the baguette and cheese. Bicycles floating by, laughter in the breeze.

Whatever the vision, it most likely doesn’t include getting up early to rush to work in the dark, the snow, the rain. It probably doesn’t include paying bills, arguing with your spouse, doing laundry, washing dishes. You probably don’t see a vision of yourself tired, shovelling cookies into your mouth as you numb your brain and body watching the latest Netflix series.

So. If you don’t win the lottery today (you might! I’m not saying it’s impossible, but just say you don’t)…what’s a person to do? If the Good Life seems an impossible universe away, if the now seems a dark reality in comparison, should we just throw away the dreams, the images? Work harder to try and attain them? Stick a picture of a beach and a ferrari on a bulletin board and start each day staring at it?

Try this, instead: ask yourself what you want when you wish you lived the good life. Not the material specifics, but the real deep truth of what you seek.

Most likely it is to feel good. Truly, whatever it is we are seeking, it is because, deep down, we believe we will feel better when we have it.

What if...we practiced feeling that good NOW, before we’ve acquired the external “proof” of living the good life. What if we decided to feel as IF we are living the good life right now?

Impossible! Right? How can I possibly feel as good as I would if I were on an endless vacation when I have to get up at 5:30AM to work an 8 hour day? How can I possibly feel as good as I would if I were driving a shiny new car, when I am driving around an old dented honda civic? How can I feel good when I can’t afford the life I want?

Well, I think maybe we can't afford not to. Because we all know that the acquisition of the thing yields short-lived happiness. You finally get the boots, the jeans, the couch, the car, the whatever it is you’ve been lusting after. And it feels GREAT, for a while. But soon enough you are used to it, its shininess isn’t shiny enough, and now you want some other new, perfect, essential thing. And so the cycle goes.

So why would the ultimate “Good Life” be any different? No matter where you go, there you are, after all. So surely, the absolutely most important thing to take care of is how we feel? If we can manage things such that we feel great even now with our busy work schedule, our old clunker of a car, our 15 extra lbs, well then, who cares about the good life? And, when it does arrive, it will be that much better, because we will already be happy, we will be ready to enjoy it.

So what do you have to do to enjoy your life right now, exactly as it is. Nothing to change outside yourself, nothing to fix, no conditions to be met before you can be happy.

Here are some ideas:

Find what enlivens you, and do it.
Choose to guide your thoughts towards beauty and appreciation.
Listen to things that uplift you.
Take care of your body so that it feels good from the inside. No guilt, no strict rules, just love.
Try not complaining for a while. When you want to complain, is there somewhere else you can direct your thoughts?
Take time in the morning to do whatever you have to do to set yourself up for a positive day. Maybe it’s yoga, meditation, running, prayer. Maybe its eating cookies and watching funny youtube videos, reading a novel, dancing in your living room. Whatever it is, do it. If you think you don’t have time, ask yourself why you would consider the most essential thing of all to be something that is not worth your time. You can find 10 minutes, I promise.

Here's another hint: feeling good takes practice. But just like anything else, practice pays off. The Good Life just takes feeling good now, and that just takes a little practice.