Thinking that staying in an Airbnb in EL Centro (the center of Cuenca) was a good place to start, I booked a month in a two-bedroom apartment with a lovely rooftop access. That was until I realized it smelled like mold and the noise level belied sleep. Two nights in, while barely managing four hours of sleep per night, I sat on the sofa early Sunday morning (I arrived on Friday evening). I decided to make a list of what I wanted in a place which of course brought up my incessant inner critic saying, you can’t have what you want. Give it up. You live in a third world country now and everything smells and is noisy.
I stopped. What? I’ve just launched a huge change in my life and I’m not going to just roll over and admit defeat three days in! Have you ever done this? The mere idea that we can create our own reality through our mindset sounds so amazing in a sentence. The truth is, I had become somewhat cynical that that power lay in me. Years of list making, dream board creating, and positive affirmations had left me disgruntled on the process. Inside my mind, though, waited a little faery with her wand and arms crossed, giving me that look. You know the look. It’s the look that says, since when are you a pansy?
Here is the list I wrote down: an apartment with a beautiful garden that I don’t have to tend, lots of sunlight, dogs that I don’t have to walk, quiet (very quiet), near the river so I can hear it, a kind landlord, a vegetable and fruit stand on the corner, furnished, and under $500 per month. Here in Cuenca, that cost is not a reach for a decent place. I know, rents have skyrocketed in the US from 25-45% nationwide. It’s nuts. In any case, that afternoon I was set to have coffee with two new friends named Kay and Janet. The conversation turned to my smelly, noisy apartment and Janet grinned and said, I just looked an apartment and I loved it except it has stairs, which I can’t do with my hip. It would be perfect for you.
Kay, in gleeful haste, grabbed her phone and showed me a short video she made when they had first seen the place, and I couldn’t hide my astonishment. It was exactly what I had asked for! I want it, I declared, and in a taxi Kay and I went to see the property. On Tuesday afternoon I moved into the exact apartment I asked for. To say that my faith in creating my reality is restored is an understatement. Ask for what you want. Imagine it, write it down, put in the front of your head (at your third-eye) then move it to the back of your head right where your spine and skull meet. Imagine three scenarios where you receive what you asked for. Make sure you aren’t attempting to manipulate anyone in the process! Write it down, and put it away.
This morning I worked on creating my reality with my online business, love life (did I just say love life?), future home ownership, and lifestyle. Life is constantly in motion, as are our wants and desires. Move past want you need into what you want. Many of you feel selfish even reading that sentence! We give to our families, children, jobs, spouse (or partner), and train everyone that we are the emotional center, not giving the time to our own wants. What do you want? Maybe it isn’t as extreme as what I did in moving to Ecuador, maybe it’s just simple things that others don’t value as highly as you do. It doesn’t matter, you need only ask.
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