Journeyer, do you know that feeling you get when you are able to something that brings another person joy?
The warmth that envelops you and the smile that practically makes your jaws ache?
On Thursday, Warren and I were a part of something so simple, and yet, something so profound for another young couple.
You know that rehabbed house we’ve been trying to sell for a year?
Six months into the listing, when we began to feel anxious about the lack of activity, I began saying “The right buyer is coming along.”
It’s sort of been my mantra, one that kept me from falling into some abyss of fear and speculation.
Guess what? It turns out the right buyer did come along, but more importantly, that deal landed in our laps at exactly the right time.
Almost like it fell from the heavens. Seriously.
You see, the woman who took care of our children and laundry and dishes and floors and pets, who started when she was just a preteen herself, recently entered into a situation where she and her family needed a helping hand.
She and her husband had found their dream property, one that was ideal to their family’s unique needs, but the stars weren’t aligning and they ran into one unforeseen glitch after another, right up to their contingency deadline, and the seller wouldn’t budge.
This young couple had been watching this home for months and were as elated when their offer was accepted as they were heartbroken with an impending collapse of the deal.
Warren and I found out about their dilemma one week after we closed on that flipped house.
We had mentally allocated the proceeds from that sale from the day we’d completed the project, but days before we spent that money, Warren heard about their dilemma.
“You know, we were in this very position two years ago,” he said to me after we’d approached them with some assistance, “but the timing was bad for everyone we knew.”
“It just feels good to be in a position to help someone else out, doesn’t it?” he continued.
Journeyer, we were able to buy that land and entered into an agreement to sell it to them when they are ready.
It’s a win-win situation.
My heart nearly burst when I stopped by on my way home to find them with their toddlers, who excitedly told me about the pond and how they were going to go fishing with papa, the adults discussing how they want to revamp and revitalize this old home after gutting it of its original lath and plaster walls.
When we build kindness and hope and love, when we believe in the spirit that resides in each of us, those things come back to us, Journeyers.
I believe that with all of my being.
As frustrating as the minutia and mean-spiritedness and mind-boggling shit can be, I keep willing myself to come back to that place of peace and kindness and that of a more settled brain chatter.
As I drove home from that new place, remembering the little girl exclaiming, “flower!” and pointing to the matching color on her striped sundress, this week’s title came to mind, and I thought about longing, about lost and regained hope, about desire and dreams, and the beauty of this universe, one that bears the power of it all.
Always, Journeyer, even in our darkest of hours, there is something that brings us joy.
It might simply be a fleeting flicker of hope, an occurrence that brings a faint smile to our lips, or an event that makes us chuckle out loud or laugh a side-splitting guffaw.
Regardless of how brief the moment might be, it bears a measure of happiness, and when we give it credence, when we give it a voice within us by honoring it, then we are happy.
My week’s field has been scattered with all different kinds of fresh and beautiful symbols of joy.
Here are a few images of the gorgeous land laid out before me as I made yet another trip!
I’m super happy to report that this time I’m traveling strictly for myself and this work I love!
As I pre-prepare this post, I am aboard Delta flight 1500, bound for a Hay House Writer’s Workshop in Denver.
I’ve been following this organization for a while now, and couldn’t believe my good fortune when I clicked on the e-mail link, a correspondence I almost overlooked in my daunting stack of unread mail.
Not only was the timing excellent, the gathering was to be held two days after the official SCHOOL’S OUT bell rang, we had the money to cover the costs, and it also happened to be in Squirrel’s hometown, where her mother was thrilled to put me up and offer me a car to take me to and from the venue.
I just love it when things come together so nicely.
Now flash forward with me three days, where I sit aboard Delta flight 1343 returning home…
Wow. Just wow…
Exhilarating, exhausting, engaging, inspiring, and ever so rewarding!
I not only listened to some brilliantly inspirational people like Gregg Braden, Reid Tracey, and Nancy Levin, I also met several new friends like Jenna, the girl who swears I saved her life this past Saturday morning.
Coming in late, Jenna copped a squat on the floor after the woman next to an open seat told her the seat wasn’t available.
I had to meet this woman, Journeyer, for this is exactly the kind of thing I might have done in that same situation.
Well, I’m not going to let a selfish being or a lack of space stand in the way of my day or my dreams, I imagined our thoughts.
At the break I practically leapt across the women between me and her and introduced myself, explaining how I admired her moxie (courage mixed with creativity, as I later told her.)
She explained that she was late coming in because another car all but ran her off the road, that she’d only had two hours of sleep the night before, that her empty stomach and the adrenaline from the “near-death experience” weren’t jiving too well, but that she was there, and nothing was going to prevent it.
How did I save her life, you want to know?
A bag of Trailmix plucked from my purse.
Imagine that. Making someone’s day or saving a life is a simple as a smile or a bag of peanuts (and chocolate, of course.)
In other warm and fuzzy news, my accommodations for the weekend included these furry friends which made my stay even more like being home.
Mopsy, my roommate and little Mother Hen!
Blue.
(He wasn’t grouchy until I insisted he pose for this picture!)
Willy.
And last, but not least, Snoopy, who was so excited I couldn’t capture one still photo of her!
And then I awoke Sunday morning to the most delicious, fresh blueberry pancakes and crisp bacon prepared by my beautiful host.
A Saturday night stroll took us by the Riverfest event and gave me the chance to meet Squirrel’s sister, who is as equally charming as the rest of her family.
Though I’ve never been able to develop a taste for coffee, I’m super excited to try this Starbuck’s blend she gave me as a welcoming gift! Citrus flavored brew!! Who knew?!
I’ll be able to put it in this Barnes and Noble mug one of my kindergarten students gave me on the last day of school.
Speaking of my students, they loved the end-of-year parting gifts I made for them: Fortunes!
Here are the other documentations of those things that filled my past week’s happy…
Though this smiling pooch wasn’t a part of my Denver package, this image is one that kicked off my week’s joy.
I passed this field of dreams on my drive to the Buffalo airport.
This rainbow was part of my welcome mat to Denver!
And the skies and those mountain peaks!
Downtown Denver’s 16th Street Mall courtyards are filled with pianos awaiting someone, anyone, to sit down and play!
And do you see the horse-drawn carriage?
This Denver airport sandwich from Einstein Bros Bagels has to be a crowd pleaser. You haven’t tasted delicious until you’ve sunk your teeth into one of these fresh, crisp sandwiches.
On my last morning in Denver, I spotted this custom label on this bottle of wine. The image is from an actual photo taken (with a cell phone, no less!) of my friend’s tiny cottage high above the city’s chimney tops.
My friend and her husband designed and built this quirky little cabin, a place where they go to decompress and dream…
The daughter who took the photo and put together this gift, seems to understand all too well the meaning of that quote she included, one written by poet Marsha Norman: “Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.”
Journeyer, one of the things I’ve been doing as I’ve traveled is sprinkling about Digging for the Light bookmarks or signed copies of the book.
This time, my soul suggested I leave a message to the finder. So I pulled out my pen and scrawled this note for the voyager who would stumble upon the book, pick her up, and be moved to find her a new home:
I’m honored to add this week’s field of dreams to my own dream anthology.
What about you, Journeyer? Will you join me by sharing a snapshot of a single moment that brought your soul a measure of happiness?
Until next we meet again, yours in healing and hope and happiness…
~AE
Oh, and one more thing before I go: After nearly a month, I finally succeeded in advancing beyond Level 323. It’s the little things…
