Notes From the Universe

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Melissa

A galaxy far, far away.

This Little Cunning Plan is really putting my faith to the test. Not that it hasn’t been tested before. It’s just that at the age I am at now, it seems like time is short to live our dreams, so I feel that sense of urgency; not unlike the feeling I used to get when separated from my babies for too long when I left them with someone else. I’m so irritated at being this old that I forgot how old I was the other day. (Try it. It’s a useful trick.) So the testing I’m going through has this sense of urgency on some days.

Anyhow, back to the Universe, a word which here means God, the great Creator, the Goddess, Holy Father, Unifying Field, or any number of other monikers people seem to use interchangeably. I generally have a lot of faith in it, whatever it is. And I am practicing waiting patiently, working on enjoying my life as it is, while focusing on how it will be in the future, all at the same time. Sometimes this is a tricky balance, such as when I look around and notice all the work that has to be done around here, or when I get frustrated that our boat hasn’t yet sold. And on those days, I can really use a little encouragement.

That’s where Notes From the Universe comes in. The notes are in the form of little email messages I get daily through a program generated by Mike Dooley, guru of ‘Thoughts Become Things‘. He’s an inspirational speaker, author, and all that, who makes his money doing those speaking and authoring things. His message is simple: that what you think about is what you manifest, what you focus on becomes your reality. It’s a fairly simplistic version of the ‘law of attraction’, pretty ‘New Agey’, not real deep stuff. I’m not particularly recommending his books, as I find them to be a little repetitive and not a lot of substance. I like more academic works, as a general rule. But I give him a lot of credit for having a clear, unwavering message that is positive and hopeful. He is uplifting to people and that’s all to the good. His ‘Notes’ program, though, I really love.

You sign up with your email address and create a profile that includes your hopes and dreams for the future. The notes are tailored toward that profile. I made mine so long ago that now when I get a note that references ‘blue water voyaging’, it’s a little freaky until I remember that it’s computer generated. Nonetheless, it works. No matter what your goal may be, this little program offers encouragement in a loving way from the Universe. Here’s my message for today:

“Perhaps the greatest of all illusions, Melissa, is that life could somehow be better than it already is. You’ve got it made- The Universe”

How perfect is that? Just last night Mike and I were commenting to each other about how very, very fortunate we’ve been in our lives. Happily married coming up on 30 years, two beautiful children who are successful at life, a nice home, good professions that we’ve enjoyed (even if we’re tired of working) and that have offered a satisfying standard of living. We have so much to be grateful for. And the Universe does a good job of reminding me of that.

If the Universe is intelligent, it understands me better than I do.

U of Life

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Melissa

Soon, this will not be my office anymore.

It’s weirdly strange sometimes how our cunning plan gets pushed along without our being in charge of it. When we started this blog it was with the intention of writing about the process of downsizing our lives, making it easier to cast off the ties that bind us to the land and get out there on the deep blue sea. Since then we’ve donated a ton of stuff, sold some stuff, put our boat on the market, and looked at a few boats, but that’s really about it in terms of downsizing. I mean, how do people really go about making their lives simpler while still living in the same house and working at the same jobs, parenting the same children? It’s not as easy as it sounds.

Until the Universe starts taking charge. And then anything can happen. You know all those books that talk about how to manifest change in your life? The ones that tell you to just move forward as though the changes were actually already happening? Apparently they are at least partly right. Problem is, once you put your goals and aspirations out into the Universe and begin acting ‘as if’ they were already happening, you lose a little bit of control about how things go down. I think this falls under the category of being careful what you pray for. Here’s what I mean:

In my work as psychotherapist, I have an office to maintain. Like boats and houses, offices tend to get bigger and fancier, and more expensive, as one gains more experience. I started out practicing in a very modest office with minimal expenses. Soon I moved to a little nicer office, and after many years there, I moved to a really nice office. I felt I had ‘arrived’. My office is on the Foss Waterway, half a mile from our boat. I walk from the marina to work. The office is filled with light from the huge windows, something that is really important to me up here. But what I really like is that my office is quite beautiful and I enjoy working in such a space. I love the furnishings, sometimes more than the ones I have at home. I enjoy just hanging out there when I have some time between clients. Actually, it’s a little like having my own private apartment away from home.

At least I get to keep the furnishings.

A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from the new building property management telling me that the bank now owned my building. The ‘new owners’ had decided they needed my office for their own use. Since they had not yet renewed my lease, which expired in November 2011, they were legally able to ask me find a new place as of April 1. Oh. Super. I knew there must be SOME reason why they dropped the negotiations on the new lease. Now I know why. The idea of having to move my office, with all the myriad details of such a move (which are considerable in my business) made me want to throw up a little. I responded with my usual hands-on-hips foot stomping at such a situation.

Then Mike said something that made me think again. “This might be a good time for you to consider not having an office, or doing a different kind of work so that you can be ready to walk away when we get to the point where we can leave.”, he said mildly. Hmmm. My husband speaks quietly but carries a big brain in his head. He was kind of correct, in a way, so I began to feel differently about this move. The hands came decidedly off of the hips. My footsteps became quiet. Although I do need an office, I don’t really need such a big and expensive office, even though I like having it. Sure, it’s the trapping of success in my field, but I’m redefining success, aren’t I? Maybe I could get by with something that costs me less, which would enable me to work less? Maybe I could begin doing some work over the computer, or even meet with certain people in my home office? Maybe this is the price of my freedom. I can get on board with that.

I began to look at new spaces and, just like looking at boats, it soon became clear what I really needed, versus what I wanted. Of course I want a big space. I like having space to roam in a room. But I NEED only a small space, just enough for some choice furnishings. I need to stay close to my current location. And I need to have a lease that will allow me to walk away if we get the opportunity to cruise sooner rather than later, and that will allow me to sublet the office on the days I don’t work. This would be perfect!

This orchid blooms constantly in this office. I've never been able to grow orchids before. I will miss this.

And so the Universe is on notice that this is what I require. I see this as the first solid move we’ve made in the direction of getting the heck out of Dodge. I may not be financially able to walk away from my career yet, but I can begin downsizing in that area as a way of preparing myself. And it was the Universe that made that decision easy.

Now, will the forces of the Universe please converge and get our boat sold? Many thanks, big U.!

Hope ‘Springs’ Eternal!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Melissa

I am hopeful for an early spring this year. This hope comes as I look at the temperature outside and realize it’s a chilly 33 degrees Fahrenheit. And that’s without the wind chill and the freezing rain/snow that’s been blowing around all day long. Once this winter storm passes, though, I’m going to hold out for spring to come early and stay. We deserve it. It’s time. And I think I may have evidence of such an event blooming in my yard. Walking the garden, I notice that I have a lot of things blooming much earlier this year.

Of course, I say that every year because it’s about this time that those of us who are the uber-gardeners start chomping at the bit to get outside and put our hands in the dirt. It’s true. I have been happiest with dirt under my nails and leaves in my hair. Fortunately, I married a good man who doesn’t mind a few twigs. In the past this extreme love of the garden has vied for space in my psyche with my love of sailing. I admit that many times I have let Mike go down to the boat by himself, preferring to putter around in the garden snipping this, digging that. My garden is beautiful. I’ve had many years of pleasure creating and maintaining it. Gardens are world’s in and of themselves. Ask any passionate gardener.

Last year I noticed that my feelings had changed. I still loved the garden, but I started choosing to go down to the boat rather than work all day. I allowed once pampered plants to fend for themselves. “Live or die”, I said to them. “You choose.” (Yep, I do talk to my plants.) The balance was tipping; the downhill slide into full fledged boat craziness had begun. I bought a hammock, put it up on the boat, and commenced laying in it with a good book.

I usually don’t do much in moderation, a karmic lesson that will take me a lifetime to learn properly. So once the balance shifts, it’s a little like riding a freight train. Still, the karma requires that I throttle back the engine some and pay attention to the fullness of my life now, not simply the life I want to lead in the future. So I’m trying. In so doing, I go out to my garden and look at what’s blooming, plan what needs to happen this year; make time and space in the psyche for plants I still love and spaces that still feed my soul.

Here are some photos I took while walking the garden on a sunny day this week. The Hellebores are blooming! I love them because they bloom in the winter, then keep nice foliage the rest of the year. They are no muss, no fuss plants with a lot of impact. And they don’t need much sun, which is good because I don’t have much to give them up here.

Hellebores, who give up their beauty in the depths of winter, are the promise of the spring yet to emerge for us. They are the hope-keepers of the garden, bridging the memory of gardens past with the vision for the garden’s future. They say to us, ‘Just wait patiently for the future to emerge. No need to hurry. Appreciate me right now.’ And I love them for it, and try to listen.