I want to talk about the eclipse we just had.
We live in Boise so this was going to cross our state, the state of Idaho. My husband was super excited about the “path of totality” where you’d experience the full total eclipse. There would be a halo and a fully black sun. It would turn night. He wanted to be where you would experience this for as long as possible.
That’s awesome, except that I’m the planner and I didn’t make any arrangements. I didn’t have lodging for us the night before, so I came up with this brilliant idea. We could launch our boat on a lake in the “path of totality”, sleep on it, and experience the eclipse the next morning. My husband thinks this is an awesome idea, so we’re going to do this.
But I start to develop this feeling of unease. We’re unorganized, so there’s a lot of work to do. Because Idaho is small and these are small towns and small roads, they’re saying that there’s going to be major traffic, gas shortages, danger of wildfires, and all kinds of things. And to top it off, the day after the eclipse is the first day of school and all three of our kids are going to new schools this year. So, we HAVE TO get home.
I say to my husband, “I think this is a bad idea.”
And he says to me, “You better cut that voodoo crap right now.”
Here is the reason he says this. Often, what I put my focus on and my energy into happens. I actually make things happen. I am a creator. He calls it my voodoo, but it’s legit. For REALS.
I realize I have to make a choice. I can allow this to continue until I have full-on anxiety about this trip. Or I can pick adventure. I can start to develop adventure energy, and I can start to focus on how awesome it’s going to be. Here’s the thing…I’m going to get back what I focus on. Anxiety? I’m probably going to have some issues on this trip which are unpleasant. Adventure? It’s going to be rad. So, I decide to align myself with that.
This is how it turns out.
Easy peasy getting there. No problem. They are actually turning boats away from Redfish Lake but they let us through, so we get on the lake. It’s gorgeous! Redfish Lake is a beautiful, beautiful place. It’s serene. We’re on the boat with our three kids, just them, our family. It’s quiet. The stars are amazing that night, and we wake up to beautiful scenery.
The eclipse is profound. It is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced. We get to take our glasses off and soak up two minutes of something that was so surreal that I literally cried. It was unbelievable. So quiet on the lake, and we’re in the middle of the water watching this happen. It was amazing.
Not a minute of traffic on the way home. Everybody gets to their practice. Everybody gets a good night’s sleep for the first day of school. It turned out to be an even better adventure than I had started to energetically expect. It was a true gift, a gift, and a memory for my family.
It’s all about how you are going to view something and how you’re going to align your energy.
You can pick anxiety. You can pick adventure. You’re going to get what you put out.