My mother used to say:
“Honey, you can walk down the street buck naked, and if you act like you know what you’re doing, nobody’ll ever even notice!”
God bless her soul, and may she rest in peace.
Over the [many] years I’ve been on this earth I’ve learned that my mother was righter than even she imagined. Sometimes in order to make something happen you just have to act like it already has. I know it sounds backwards, and you may be asking “How do you do that, for Pete’s sake?” Well, here’s how it worked for me.
Three years ago this month I decided I was going to move from Texas to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Period. It was time. I’d been visiting NM for 20 years and was drawn there in many ways and for many reasons. Plus, I’d been on the ranch in the Texas Hill Country — a place about which I will forever hold treasured memories — for 8 years and was feeling a little too isolated as my years progressed. So it was time.
BUT … for about a year after making the decision I was caught in one of those “in between” moments of life, where you know the general game plan but there seems to be absolutely nothing you can do to make it happen. In this case it was very much a cart before the horse situation, or which-came-first-the-chicken-or-the-egg kinda thing. How could I move if I didn’t have a place to move to? And how could I buy a place to move to if I didn’t sell the ranch first? Both major propositions involving lots of moolah!
Another related action plan was to buy a car that would be good on ice and snow. All I had at the ranch was a monster diesel truck for hauling cows and horses and getting around town. Not that I don’t love that truck, and I still have it, but pickup trucks are NOT what you want to be driving on ice! Unless you have a heavy payload in back, which I usually don’t.
I was venting my frustrations with a dear friend one day, about this state of limbo I felt caught in, and she said the most interesting thing to me. I paraphrase here, but it was something like:
“Leta, I have a friend who just starts acting out things she is hoping for as if they are already happening. Why don’t you just go ahead and buy the car now. You know you’re going to need it eventually, and I have a feeling if you take that first step it may get the ball rolling. Oh … and buy a red one.”
Having previously studied magic (yes, I studied magic) with this friend, I understood about the red — it’s a fire color and full of action and will, so choosing a red car would be an outward manifestation of my determination and desire.
So………long story short……….I found and bought the perfect little RED Subaru Outback (the be-all-end-all when it comes to ice and snow) and, sho nuff, three months later I found my dream home just south of Santa Fe, the Texas ranch was under contract, and I started packing!
So whether it’s walking down the street buck naked or buying a saddle for that horse you have your eye on, go ahead. Be brave and invite life to come on in!
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IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT MY MOVE, CHECK OUT THESE:
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