My Own Little World...

'I live in my own little world, but it's okay they know me here.'

As I continue to sift through boxes and unpack into our new house, I am coming across so many of the ‘stories’ in my life that have shaped who I am.  Lately I have been going through a box that I myself labeled ‘Sacred Stuff.’ If anyone else were to peer into my treasures they would undoubtedly think I was a mad woman. There are things like a candle made out of construction paper, a Paper Mache duck, and an old tin cup that is dinged and dented. Each of these things has a story behind it that brought the interactive universe to life in my world- and that makes these things that would be junk to someone else, more valuable than gold to me. My life changes every time the universe shows up and lets me know its watching and listening. This path of continual unfolding is a continuum I have traveled for a very long time and one I hope to never step off of.Today I want to share one of the sacred stories that I was reminded of- it is one of my favorite reminders that the universe listens and watches.Four years ago, an old friend of mine who was going through a very nasty divorce stopped by my house with her two children, so that she and I could have a heart to heart.As our kids headed to a back bedroom to play she began telling me with emphasis what a ‘son of a b****’ her soon to be ex husband was being. I listened and commiserated and oohed and aaahed for about 40 minutes. She had totally valid reasons to feel the way she felt- but I could see that she was so stuck in the ‘is-ness’ of her situation, that she was leaving no breathing room for the universe to bring some new energy into her viewpoint.I began chipping away at her SOB theory, pointing out that acknowledging his SOB’ ness was fine, but that she had to be careful that she was not giving the universe the message that she wanted even more SOB’ness in her life. I am not a Polly Anna when it comes to this world- there is a lot of mud and muck that we all face, and trying to ‘affirm’ our way out of the darkness by pretending it is not there, has never worked for me. I prefer to pull the BS in my own life close to me- invite it in if you will, have a cup of coffee with it, chat, get to know it, and then and only then, send it on its way. (This perhaps falls along the lines of that old ‘know thy enemy’ adage…)  Anyhow, after I have had my mental sit down with whatever difficulty I am facing, I let the universe know that this time spent with my shadows, was just a ‘get familiar with them’ chat and not a desire to manifest more shadows in my world. This theory may not match many of the other new thought philosophies out there, but it has worked really well in my life- and the universe has always been on board in observable ways.So back to my friend, I was giving her this same spiel- telling her that it was fine to dip into the dark with her thoughts, but that she cannot stay there- she must move away from her soon to be ex’s SOB’ness and let the universe know what it is she does want.Her response was something along these lines. ‘But I can’t think of anything else these days…’ In an attempt to help her reframe, I shifted our conversation to her two young girls. We began a fun conversation about their most recent obsession-, which just happened to be rainbows and unicorns. This conversation ensued for about 15 minutes as we laughed about the difference between boys and girls, etc.As she left my home her last question to me was this, ‘How will I know that the Universe is listening to me?’ I told her to ask the universe to show her that it is listening. ‘Ask it to reflect back to you, some portion of the conversation we had today, and make it clear that it cannot be the SOB’ness of your ex.’ We laughed together at this notion and she went on her way.Fast forward to the next morning. Because she was going through a divorce she had been displaced into a rental. That day she went out into the garage to get something. As she rummaged around looking for the item she had gone out to retrieve, a small clear plastic item that was tucked far beneath a tool bench that the owner of the home had left in the garage, caught her eye. She pulled on the edge of this item and out from under this tool bench emerged a clear plastic photo keeper- the kind you would find in a wallet. To her astonishment, inside this old photo keeper was a small round sticker that had a unicorn and a rainbow on it. She was shocked…. But almost fell over when she turned the item over and saw what was on the other side of that unicorn sticker. Staring back at her was… ME! That photo holder had two things in it…. The unicorn sticker, and a high school graduation picture of me. She could see writing on the photo and as she read what I had written at the age of 18, she could easily tell that I had inscribed a message to the man whom she rented the house from. Apparently he had owned that home for many years and had had a variety of renters in and out of it. Somehow, a unicorn sticker and a 25-year-old photo of me had sat there waiting for this moment- WOW! The interactive universe truly never disappoints.She brought me the photo and sticker later that day and of course it now sits alongside the Paper Mache duck, the old tin cup, and the candle made of construction paper…. Each item has its place in the ‘Interactive Universe’ Hall of Fame that I have been lugging through my life for almost 3 decades now.For me, this story affirms two things- that yes, the universe listens and responds to us with great clarity- but also that if we need to dip into the dark with our thinking, as long as we let the universe know that with our ‘negative thoughts’ we are just doing a little research and NOT working on manifesting more negativity, the universe honors the research process and will wait patiently for us to shift our thinking into what we DO want to see reflected in our world.I do believe we live in a benevolent universe that wants our good…. So even on the days when you can’t seem to get above your negative thoughts, don’t be afraid to include the universe in your conversation. The Interactive Universe is the best friend any of us will ever have…. But like all good relationships- honest communication is key. Be honest with your need to dip into the dark with your thoughts if that is where you are at- but be clear that it is just a visit, and then…. Turn away from those thoughts and let hope and beauty find you…. Even if all you can muster is the ‘unicorns and rainbows’ approach to positivity.As my friend and I learned that day, unicorns are alive and well in the Interactive Universe… unfortunately so is my mullet style hairdo and blue eye shadow :)