Hitting Send

When I think back to my decision to take a semester off from college to backpack across Europe by myself I must call it a premeditated impulsive choice (yes, I know this is an oxymoron). The desire to return to Holland had been building in me for a long time, coupled with an intense longing to see more of the Northern European countries. This came to light when a friend told me he had cancer and all he wanted to do was study as much as he could. I thought to myself, “If I had cancer, all I would want to do is go to Europe.” Which immediately led me to, “Why do I have to be dying to go to Europe?” I made a split second decision not to return to college as planned, but to take time off to travel. After all, if not now, when?

I would use my mom’s house in Mendocino as my interim base camp between my college dorm life and my backpacking trip. Prior to this relocation, I sent out a number of resumes with cover letters explaining that I would be in Mendocino for a specific time period and was looking for a job utilizing my skill set. Considering that it was a small, economically depressed area, I was blessed to be offered a position working for a local Inn/Restaurant as their Hostess. Not exactly what I had in mind for myself, but I would have to take what I could get.

Once I and my few belongings were safely resituated at mom’s house, it was time to get to work; after all, I had no money saved and a trip to pay for! I donned the pre-requisite black skirt and white top and anxiously went to my new Hostess job. This was when fate intervened on my behalf. The sole bookkeeper for the Inn/Restaurant had seen my resume and knew potential when she saw it, as I had a great deal of office and customer service experience. She set her sites on making me her new assistant. I was asked to return the following morning to meet with her and the business owners. Needless to say, they decided to hire me as bookkeeping assistant, despite a lack of prior experience in the field. In fact, I think my high school math teachers would have had a good chuckle at this!

The bookkeeper immediately set out teaching me every aspect of what her job entailed. She began with tallying restaurant totals, emptying the safes, and organizing deposits, but soon moved to what would become my new misery: spreadsheets. Ugh! I hated them immediately! First of all, they were dreadfully large and awkward. Secondly, making numbers total across *and* down was just not my forte at all. And yes, if you’re wondering, we were doing all of this by hand and on paper at the time. I needed motivation to help me get through this headachy torment and keep me focused upon the ultimate European goal. Besides, my friends were all saying something akin to, “You have an open-ended ticket and no money?! How are you going to pay for the trip??”

In my heart, I knew I was doing the right thing, so I stayed focused upon the dream. I found every picture I could of European countryside, trains, villages, and any other images that I found inspiring and pasted them all together on a poster board which I then hung above my desk at work. I would take breaks from my spreadsheet to gaze up at it longingly, transporting myself into this future, and allowing myself to experience what being there would actually feel like.

A few weeks before I was to leave for my trip, the bookkeeper quit without notice, leaving me the sole bookkeeper in charge. Hahaha! I somehow stumbled upon the fact that she hadn’t done a backup of computer files in almost a year! So I purchased computer disks with this goal in mind. Inside the box of disks was a scratch-off ticket which I scratched off only to discover a losing ticket. In addition, they were the wrong disks. Without any rational thought, I proceeded to open the second box of disks. You know? The ones which should be getting returned to the store! I scratched off the ticket and stared in disbelief at the three matching totals. I reread the directions which clearly stated that if you match three like amounts, you win that amount. Heart pounding in my chest, I counted and recounted zeros. Ohhh my God/Goddess!!! I had just won $10,000.00!!! My bosses were kind enough to allow me to keep this, and I reciprocated by not only returning the money for both boxes of disks, but also buying them each a case of their favorite fine wines. After all, I now had the money I needed for my trip and then some!

There is presently a great deal of attention going into the concept of creating one’s own reality. Whether you call it “Law of Attraction”, programming the subconscious mind, or simply setting goals; it’s all the same thing. It begins with setting the intention, stating the goals you wish to accomplish. It’s helpful to then look at what it will realistically take to achieve these goals. But, in my personal experience, it is focusing on that end result and feeling what it feels like to already have it that aids in the process of attaining what you want. What do you want most in life? Focus upon it, see it, feel it, dream it, and it can be yours.