PURE ALCHEMY

Have you ever felt the Universe fighting you every step of the way? You know those times - when nothing ever seems to “fit”  and everything seems to be an uphill road. Or when you get stuck in what Dr. Seuss called the “Waiting Place”*. That’s the most miserable for me. I can deal with pretty much any major crisis in my life, knowing that it won’t last forever, mercifully. But the typically long-term prison of the Waiting Place is the toughest. Nothing ever budges, no matter what you do or how hard you try.

And then it happens. Little subtle and serendipitous messages start coming at you here and there.That’s when you need to pay attention. They come from outside in the world and within. They’re in new people you meet, something someone says, a magazine article you read, a sense or feeling ~ everywhere you look, it like a river of the same message shouting at you. It says, “This is the next right thing for you.”

That’s the time let go of the blockage and start to turning those messages into action. Suddenly doors will fly open and nothing will dare get in your way. Everything around you will naturally and seamlessly fall into place ~ trying isn’t even required. It’s as if the Universe has created in you this powerful new desire, and since you've recognized it, it’s willing to work together with you to make it happen. 

I would venture to say that’s how Jeff and I have ended up in Cuenca...and in Costa Rica before that...and even meeting each other before that. At each of these junctures, once the messages were received and the desire fomented, the road seemed to be paved smooth as silk. I remember both of us feeling an urgent need to leave Costa Rica, no longer believing it right for us. We knew we wanted to move on, and lo and behold, when we started looking, Cuenca kept coming into view from every direction (and we’re so glad it did!)

The whole concept of how the Universe works with us (or against, it seems) is captured beautifully in Paolo Coelho’s book The Alchemist. I happened to be reading it on the plane towards our last 'new life' in Costa Rica. It’s easy to read the parable and see this amazing force at work in our lives. Call it God, call it the Universe, call it Destiny, call it Grace. Call it anything you like, but enjoy it when it comes your way!

Have you ever recognized this force in your life? Tell us all about it!

(*Check out or revisit his wise and wonderful children’s book, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” It’s awesome at any age!