1. For those of you who have asked for pictures of the wedding, they ARE coming. We are way behind on the post-wedding upkeep (including thank you cards, eek!), but I promise, pictures will come!
2. My new husband (giggle) has graciously agreed to guest blog the Paris half of the honeymoon for Shanti Town, so look out for that this weekend!
Now, ahem...on with the show!
Why The Universe Can Suck It.
So...I was talking through a problem last week with a dear friend of mine who, like me, has a tendency toward the symbolic when working through tangled situations (or, well, I do this with EVERY situation, not just tangled ones)...what does this mean? She asked me. What is the universe trying to tell me? And I pondered this, seriously, as we spoke.
I thought of all the times in my own life I've searched for answers in little clues. I thought about the times I've spent minutes or hours or days deciphering some happenstance encounter or phone call or dream or...license plate (yikes!)...pulling it apart, trying to discern it's deeper meaning, it's buried clues. Why did that car show up at THIS moment with THAT message written on it?! I thought about how this usually never leads me anywhere but into deepening anxiety. But how I always feel like I must be doing deep spiritual work, investigating the minutia of my life in this way. But that deep down I always also sort of feel like a giant goober, letting my day get hijacked by a street sign.
And then I thought about my new mantra:
The Universe Can Suck It.
(Sometimes it's more strongly worded than that in my head, but this is a family blog so...insert expletives as you see fit).
The Universe Can Suck It, people, not because there's anything wrong with the Universe, not because I no longer believe in the Universal, but because, come ON. Dude (Universe), if you want me to KNOW something, can you try to be a little less cagey about it all? I mean, is this really how I think the larger forces in the world, the ones that are supposedly all-good and all-knowing, work? Do I really think that they're just planting mildly uncomfortable and completely unintelligible signs in my life for me to turn my self into knots trying to work out? If so, then I have a few ground rules that I am going to need to lay down for this frat-boy prankster of a universe:
1. If you would like me to know something, please make it clear. If I'm, you know, "off the path", or about to make some mistake or missing some big piece of the puzzle...just go ahead and lay it out for me. I can take it, just put them cards on the table. UNTIL then, until I have clear and unmistakeable clarity about your intentions, please don't be offended if I just ignore you.
2. I'm in charge. This means, I make the decisions about my life that I want to make. I will base those decisions on my personal well-being and present-moment happiness. If you have a problem with that, I apologize, and please see item #1, above. In the meantime, I will NOT be searching the world for signs of your approval. Turns out, I don't actually need your approval to make decisions. So there.
3. And this is a big one...I am done with you being cast as some distant mean-girl frenemy in my life. If you want to be a participatory force in my world (which, you know, I know you dooooo), then you're going to need to work WITH me. I'm making the decision that my own peace of mind is more important than figuring out what the hell you're up to, so...I'll be over here living my life, and you are welcome any time. But I'm not going to bring anything to a halt to go chasing you down. You little snot.
This is what I'm telling the Universe, this is what I told my friend, and this is what I'm telling you, lovely beautiful amazing Shanti-towners...which is: who CARES what it means. Signs, omens, premonitions...it's all either just one more thing that can hold you back from living your life and living it fully, or it's not. And I'm choosing not. Because in my heart of hearts, I can't believe that any of those things, the "signs" that fill us with dread at their possible meaning...none of those things come from the big giant heart of the Universe. Those things come from the tiny and unimaginative universe, the one that lives in all of our heads, and they are best disposed of quickly and totally.
Trust me on this one, if the Universe wants you to know something...she is going to make it known, in no uncertain terms, and it's going to feel like LOVE. Not fear.
So the next time you find yourself trying to untangle the hidden meaning of the black cat crossing your path or the cockroach on your wedding dress (don't ask), just tell the Universe...
Well, you know.
