The Irritating Success of the Wrong Method

Last year, my husband and I felt the urge to alter what had become routine and expected. We felt a persistent and increasing desire to move and began our quest for a new home and community where we could grow creatively. Desire sparked our imagination and change ensued. We fashioned a goal board to mirror those desires, scoured the Internet and visited the places we thought might match our ideals.

While facilitating a workshop in early summer at a winery in California’s Central Coast, we spotted the perfect home. We made an offer, which motivated us to place our home on the market. Two weeks after escrow opened, our elation plummeted as our home and our dream home fell out of escrow. Disheartened and discouraged, we wondered, “What’s next?”

In an effort to stay calm, we chose to be in appreciation of our current home and neighborhood. Daily, over coffee, we expressed our love for our garden, our friends, and all manner of details from the conviviality of our community to the potted trees on our patio. As we practiced appreciation, we noticed small inklings and subtle suggestions emerging. Chance encounters moved us further north in our search, and friends offered us a place to stay in the event our house sold before we found a place to move.

We had put our dreams in motion and released the outcome. Each seeming defeat adjusted our course and reminded us to stay focused and positive. We practiced patience and trusted the divine plan. Every time we became frustrated, a better option emerged, what my friend Judith calls, “The irritating success of the wrong method.”

It looked as though some kind of invisible navigation system had ignited, leading, guiding and directing us to our goal in ways we never considered. At each bend in the road, we said, “yes.” Within a few months we found ourselves looking at homes in the Sierra Foothills, far from our initial search.

Our home sold in late September, and the timing of our move dovetailed perfectly with the close of escrow on our new home. Our outcome exceeded our vision. We received more for the sale of our home than the first offer. The new home was larger, newer and less expensive than our initial choice in the Central Coast. In addition, we were graced with new neighbors who inspired and enhanced our lives and a community that expanded my business and created a venue for my husband’s music. And, our move reconnected us with nature and strengthened our relationships with family and friends.

We created our dreams and trusted that the universe would manifest them. Often, it all comes about through the irritating success of the wrong method. The word ‘wrong’ meaning: not the way we expected life to play out. If we had limited the outcome to what was on our goal board, life would be less expansive and lack surprise, wonder, discovery and growth, the very elements that make life joyous.