The Fire Chief is in my driveway.
Water is pouring down the black macadam like a river, and rain is pounding on the windows of my house.
Flashing red lights bounce off my living room walls, as I stare out at the street, water levels rising.
It’s a flood.
I’m home alone, and call my fiance to make sure he is ok, and to let him know our street has been closed. When I go outside I see three cars halfway submerged, being towed onto a flat bed truck.
This wasn’t even in the forecast today.
It was a complete surprise, a flash flood, with three systems that are dumping an immense amount of water.
I feel unsettled, shocked, concerned for those drivers…..I look up at my house on the hill, and think,
Everything is ok, right?
The water is draining, so we are safe.
I head back inside to take care of some clients, and then go down into the basement, and as I turn on the light switch, I see the bulb reflected in a pool…..a stream of water running alongside the wall…..
Oh no…..
I start moving everything I can into the center of the room, and realize the corners of the carpets are soaked.
I grab towels, cloths….and my mind is racing,
I thought we were safe from flooding
Will this ruin our plans to make the basement a safe living space?
I could feel myself paralyzed for a moment, standing in the middle of the basement, holding a garbage bag, and not sure what to do next.
This is all new for me.
I’ve never owned a house before…..just apartments in the NYC.
Have you ever felt this; the moment of overwhelm when you are in a new situation and don’t know what to do?
How do you handle it, especially when it’s something you’ve always wanted?
Something you’ve been waiting for a long time?
Isn’t everything supposed to go smoothly once you get what you want?
Once you get your
Netflix Original Show
Your TED Talk
Your NY Times Bestseller
Your Sold Out Performance
Isn’t the flood leading UP to the payoff, not AFTER?
I’ve always wanted to live in a house.
I grew up in a military household, where we moved around a lot, every 1-3 years. I used to love going into furniture stores as a child, and imagine picking out furniture for my house.
I had no say in where we lived, or what house we lived in, and certainly no say in how many times it changed. So, there was an enormous thrill when I moved to NYC and rented my first apartment.
Through all my time in NYC, I held the vision of moving outside the city, starting a family, and living in a house; one I would settle down in. I loved the city, but was clear I wanted to raise a family outside the noise and cramped spaces of the big apple.
I remember seeing when they announced the location for the 2012 Olympics and thinking,
I’ll be in a house with kids at that time!
Instead, I was unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant and in the last months of my marriage.
Time passed on, I moved into the smallest living space I had experienced, 300 square feet, and kept that vision alive.
Living in a house and starting a family.
I never imagined it would take five years to happen, and yet, when I met my fiance, I almost laughed out loud that he came with a house.
Here it was.
What I wanted!
I moved in, and then the education began.
We had to replace the washing machine
We had to replace the dryer
We needed to put in a new kitchen floor
We had to put in a whole new AC unit when it died unexpectedly
And the list goes on…….and on……
The little girl who used to skip around the furniture stores was so confused. Is this home ownership?
Why do I feel even more uncertain?
We can work so hard on our Art.
We see the vision of what we want, and we spend all our time making it happen,
the promotions
the networking
honing our technique and craft
And then when we get to the next level, where we are starting to experience acclaim…..it just seems like there’s a WHOLE new level of things to do!
You may need to hire a team, agents or publicists, and begin doing interviews.
And really the feeling we want is,
SAFETY
I wanted a house for so long, but the truth is, I had NO idea what it would be like until I was actually LIVING it.
And trust me, I like to know as much as possible BEFORE I enter a situation:) Can you relate?
Now I’m getting a crash course in duct systems, gardens, waterproofing, and french drains.
I didn’t know about these before, because I didn’t need to. They weren’t applicable to my old life.
And now they are.
Because my vision wasn’t just to have a house, but a SAFE home, one that will nourish and feed my family to be; One that will nourish and feed me.
I got the house, and now I’m learning how to make it safe.
So, what is important to your vision where you are NOW in your Art?
What is possible if you opened to what you need to learn?
What will allow you to feel SAFE as you grow to the next level of exposure and acclaim?
When we can come back to a Student mentality, or a Beginner’s Mind, it removes the judgment that we are wrong, or stupid.
Which you are not:)
You’re just experiencing something new!
And that can be scary.
So, come back to what will HELP you in the flood.
Who do you need on your team?
What is the new skill to help you at this level?
This is a sign of growth. And it’s in growth that anything is possible.
The waters will recede, and next time the flood comes, you will know what to do.
Feeling safe, and floating in the waves……