26 Apr 2024, 3:58 PM
A new family has just moved into our apartment in Brooklyn. They have a child and a dog. That once was going to be me. They'll meet friends for playdates at Prospect Park. They'll sleep with a wall between them and the magic of Brooklyn all around. They'll sit by the window and watch life take place below: neighbors chatting, people off to change the world, old Italian women meeting next door for homemade meatballs, and moms and dads on foot with strollers and groceries. They'll order take-out from one of thirty amazing restaurants and have it delivered within 15 minutes. They'll put rugs down for pitter pattery feet in honor of the neighbors below. And soak in my extra wide bathtub. Will they want a chalkboard wall in the kitchen? I had been planning on a chalkboard wall in the kitchen once we had kids.
It's so strange to think of the life I thought would take place there. Our baby. Our stroller. Our playdates at the park followed by bath time in that tub.
I never could've guessed we would be here. In South America. Danny and I - and now our doggie girl whom we simply adore. I'm sitting on a couch that probably wouldn't even fit in my Brooklyn apartment. Even though I love tiny apartments! All of this is a trip. And so unexpected.
It feels like we've been traveling the world lately even though I thought we'd be settled in meeting friends on Sunday afternoons under the Brooklyn Bridge and going to brownstone BBQs like I was doing in the photo above (while visiting Brooklyn this July). And now we're planning out a year that boggles my mind: perhaps a spiritual journey to India (and so why not a visit to China, too?); an expedition to Machu Piccu, Bolivia, and Patagonia; and how about a retreat in Australia and Kauai - because we've been invited; and another U.S. Tour for our retreats - because a farmhouse in PA is calling our name; and some retreat alumni in Seattle and Las Vegas want to host us, too. We are also now starting the planning process for an online program for people who want to transform their lives and marriages. And we are very, very close to editing some content we have for a book (hint: 'Love Story' fans will be very happy about it.) Holy smokes.
So there you have it.
This is unreal to me.
And yes, I know, all of this is an experience of a lifetime.
And yet sometimes I don't know how to live this life. No one taught me how to live this life.
I don't know how to publish a book. I don't know how to run this little ship in the most efficient way. But I guess I don't know how to unfold a stroller, either. So together, whatever you are doing and I am doing - let's believe that we can do it!! Let's make it the best we possibly can. No matter how unknown or unexpected our lives are, step by step, we can learn how to thrive regardless of what we have before us. I know it.
