My, How Things Have Changed!

Almost twenty years ago I made the leap of faith to move to the mountains here in Asheville, North Carolina. In my pocket was $200. that had to go a long way. In my car were two business suits and (10) copies of my resume'. As I look back at where I've come from, in preparation to take another leap, it amazes me how much things have changed.

In 1990, I lived in a small town nearby and drove 30 miles to and from work each day.  A small BP gas station was conveniently on the way, and a handful of native farmers used to gather in the mornings for a cup of Joe and to swap stories. One morning I walked in, dressed in my skirt and heels, and received one of the nicest compliments ever given. This fellow, in his over-alls and cap, said "Miss, you got sparkle a-plenty". And that day, I did feel sparkly.

The mountains called me here with a mission. I was going to build a healing and meditation retreat. Along with way, I found my soul's passion and my service to Awakening. I also came into the knowledge that we each carry the healing center with us, everywhere we go.

Fast forward twenty years. Still recovering from the fracture to my left foot which occurred in July, I occasionally limp when I step on it wrong until the kinks get worked out. Walking into the post office, noticeably limping and favoring that foot, an elderly mountain man held the door open for me, commenting with a smile, "If you was a horse, we'd hafta' shoot ya'!"

It wasn't hard for me to see the humor in it, and I laughed with my husband about it, and told the story at our Kiwanis meeting that same day. But my goodness! How things have changed! I'd gone from being sparkly to being called a lame horse in twenty short years!

Even so, in the bigger picture, something hadn't changed. There was a constancy of purpose I could feel, an intrinsic part of my core. And here I was getting ready to take another leap of faith on a project I could feel at many levels was something I was destined for. A larger aspect of my mission was beckoning to me now, limping or sparkly, dressed in a suit or jeans, it didn't matter.

What matters is what we feel in our heart, and were I to be asked, I would say that we are all, each one of us, exactly where we are supposed to be. Poised on the threshold of something grande and glorious that we have all written to be a part of, a story so incredible, it has taken 15 billion years to play out.