On a Saturday morning back in February, I met my friend, Ali, for coffee. These weekend coffee dates had become a wonderful timeout from real life. For a couple hours, I could venture out into the world (just down the street, but still) as an individual person.
I didn’t have to struggle with getting a kid, or four, in and out of the car. I could just pull into a parking space and get myself out of the car; it was a lightness that I rarely felt anymore.
Our conversation that day spanned many topics—from plants to how much our time is worth to how our mindsets shift as we move through life.
Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, I had an epiphany. And then sometime after that, I forgot what it was. (This is why we can’t have nice things.)
Even though I can’t recall, to this day, what my moment of clarity was about, this particular morning meetup stuck with me for another reason.
My friend and I spoke in-depth about our own individual desires to write a book. We discussed what we might write about and why neither of us had done it yet.
I shared my concerns with her…
“I haven’t made millions off of a fool-proof plan, or even have a draft of a fool-proof plan; who would trust to me?”
“I don’t have the degrees or certifications; why would anyone listen to what I have to say?”
“There are already so many people sharing their experiences and helping others; what could I possibly bring to the table?”
After sharing this with my friend, her response took me by surprise.
“But that’s what this world needs right now. It needs more people offering advice and help to others. It needs more healers. People need to start healing, so that they can begin to heal the earth.”
I sat there stunned. I knew she was right.
(And the months to follow would prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that our people and our earth need our help.)
After talking about it for awhile more, I realized that I had been stuck in a ‘lack’ mindset. I could only focus on all of the reasons that I would fail. I could never get past them far enough to see what it would look like if I were successful.
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get started if I was knee-deep in lack. I needed to pull myself out of this way of thinking and take on an ‘abundance’ mindset instead.
Though it wasn’t easy, I came up with these high-vibe thoughts to replace the old low-vibe ones…
“I can really see the value in A, B, and C; I need to tell others about it.”
“I have a lot of experience in certain things that might really help people.”
“I’ve seen these strategies work for myself; maybe others can benefit from implementing them, too.”
After leaving the coffee shop, I was reinvigorated. I felt the importance of this meeting and that some form of contract with the universe had been signed.
I made the decision right then and there to finally start writing my book.
The thing is that I didn’t actually start writing the book that day … or the next day. Not the following week. Or even the next month.
It ended up taking about six months for me to get started. I may have known the right words to say to myself, but that wasn’t enough. I had to live the abundance mindset; I had to start taking action. It became obvious that just because I became aware of my issues or blockages didn’t mean that they instantly disappeared.
(I’m sure that part of the delay was the result of a sudden worldwide upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then trying to adapt our lives accordingly. In that time my family and I had to figure out the best way to protect ourselves and our community and how to implement these, which is important work in and of itself.)
When I finally wrote the first line of my book (about a month ago now), I noticed a shift. That first action set a ball in motion, which picked up momentum and has steadily increased these past few weeks.
I began to welcome abundance into my life through my writing, my thoughts, and my willingness to be guided to whatever would be next. I felt pulled in certain directions and called to talk about specific topics, so when I was drawn to writing about my coffee date with my friend and how subsequent events unfolded, I just went with it. I felt like it was the next important thing I had to say.
Little did I know that my other friend, Jen (from Two Can Travel), had abundance on the brain, as well. At the same time that I began this blog post, Jen was putting together a Facebook group to participate in Deepak Chopra’s 21 Days of Abundance course during the month of September.
It doesn’t really surprise me at this point when two seemingly unrelated events end up revealing themselves as connected in some way. However, it always delights me to see the universe’s work come to the surface.
Jen had also led this practice last month, and I joined the group with the intention of participating, but I just couldn’t “fit it into my schedule.” Now I know that the August group wasn’t meant for me; I wasn’t ready yet.
Ultimately, I decided to join the September group and I couldn’t be more grateful. Not only is it a deep dive into bringing abundance and pure consciousness into everyday life, but it has given me a morning meditation practice, which I’ve craved for so long.
I’m on Day 5 and the activity for today is to create and lead my own Abundance practice group (well, now I know why I needed to wait to publish this post). I am so excited to share this course with others, since experiencing the benefits of it myself after only a short period.
Divine timing strikes again.
I am in complete awe (and I always want to be).
<3 Laura
P.S. If you would like to participate in my Abundance practice group, please reach out to me. We will begin on September 15, 2020.
