You’re not always right.
No offense, but you’re not.
And I’m not saying this because I’m a Super Smarty Pants who knows everything and always does what I’m supposed to do.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
I’m a Super Silly Pants who has all sorts of ideas that are not always the best thing for me.
Case in point:
The day before Melissa and I were due to leave on the first tour in our travel van, we called Karen Drucker.
If you don’t already know Karen Drucker, you should. She’s written tons of amazing and powerful songs. She’s also a wonderful performer with the ability to transport a room into fits of giddy laughter and deep peace. She’s the Real Deal.
So we called the Real Deal the night before we left on our tour to ask about pricing our music flash drives.
In the course of our conversation, she asked if we were going to post a travelogue online to share our journey with others.
No. No, we were not.
Not only that, we had reasons we weren’t going to do it.
It seemed too braggadocios. We had recently received a large donation that allowed us to purchase the travel van. Wouldn’t that be rubbing it in everyone’s face?
Plus, we didn’t want to share that much of ourselves with the world. We’re not the sort of folks who take pictures of our meals and slap the photo on Facebook and Instagram.
Research has shown that posting pictures of your meal before you eat it increases the pleasure of eating said meal. Whatever.
We don’t document our daily highs and lows with anyone but each other and our close peeps. The whole idea of a travelogue seemed a little too . . . indulgent.
We had considered it once, considered it again, and decided against it.
The Real Deal set us straight.
She explained that people would love to hear about our travels. They would love to know more about our van. If they didn’t already have a similar vehicle and wanted one, our travelogue would give them a mental equivalent of what was possible.
Also, we were about a year and a half into Covid at this point. The Real Deal pointed out that folks were stir crazy. Following our travels would allow them to feel like they were getting out of the frickin’ house, even if they were only doing so virtually.
The Real Deal also shared her experience of receiving gifts, and the importance of really receiving those gifts. And allowing oneself to be seen in doing so.
The Real Deal was adamant.
Post a travelogue! It will benefit you, others, and your ministry! Do it!
So we listened.
The next day, we set off on our adventure and we put a post on Facebook and Instagram telling the world what we were doing.
The response was immediate and strong.
People loved it! They were excited about what we were doing! They were looking forward to following us on a daily basis!
We ended up documenting the entire trip. And every trip since.
The Real Deal was right. Sharing our travels – the challenging as well as the fulfilling aspects – has benefited us, others, and our ministry. We feel more connected to our peeps when we’re on the road. We hear from folks all the time about how much they enjoy the posts. Instead of people being resentful about us having the van, they’ve been inspired by it.
Even though we were so sure we were right in our pre-trip decision not to post, we were totally wrong.
It took someone else, someone with a more objective – and wider and more expansive – view to lead us to what was actually the best thing to do.
So that’s what I mean when I say that you’re not always right.
Whenever you’re dead set on doing something, especially if that something is supported by reasons that are a smidge safe and contracted, it would be in your best interests to consider a wider view.
That big fat view might come from Spirit whispering in your ear. It might come from someone like the Real Deal cheerleading you in an unexpected direction. It might come from a song you hear on the radio.
Whenever you have a chance to reevaluate your safe and fixed idea, do so!
Expansive vistas await.
What’s your experience with your safe plan vs. the expanded idea? Share your comments below!
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I for one enjoy your trip post’s. Thank you for sharing with us
Hi Barbara,
Thank you! And thank you for being part of our crew! 🙂
XOZ
I love your travel posts! I especially loved reading your travel posts then going to church to see PJ in the driveway.❤
Hi Michelle,
Yay! Thanks for being there!
XOZ
Totally agree! And it seems like the more we object to a new idea, the more we should considerate it! Love you all and love the travel posts!
Thank you, Jill. Yes, strong objection is something to pay attention to, isn’t it?! XOZ
Following your travels was one part of the inspiration for Jenn and I to go on the road ourselves. Even though that hit a bump in the road, it has brought us a long way on our Spiritual Adventure. We are now learning how to have more and more adventures from our new digs in Pennsylvania and leaning into the next stepping stones laid before us by our Creator.
I have been realizing how much I am still lurking in the shadows with my offerings in my work. Keeping it safely in the social work world and in our coaching work, I am not leaning into the True calling to help people have truly Holy Relationships.
Thanks for Tue blog and thanks for being Visible! Love to you both!
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you so much for sharing all this with me/us! We love you both, and are so happy that you have landed in such a wonderful situation in Pennsylvania.
We are both sending you Big Blessings as you step into helping people have truly Holy Relationships. What a gift to the world!
XOZ
I really enjoyed going on your journey with you. It inspired me to get out and go camping a tent with myself, waking up to frost on my tent, making coffee and sitting in the quiet life of Spirit and myself. So, Thank you so much for bringing me along. Much Love everywhere.
Hi Meg,
Yay! I love to hear that we inspired you to pull out the tent and go outside. That’s wonderful to hear! Happy Travels to you!
XOZ
I enjoy your posts. I can live your trips vicariously. It was smart to ask someone like Karen, an old hand at these sort of publicity things. Don’t let the word publicity scare you, it just means letting people you don’t directly know, who you are.
Hi Linda,
Thank you! And thank you for that reframe about publicity. That’s great. I appreciate that! 🙂
XOZ
“Let’s go to Napa”. “But we’re almost home!” “No we got to go. There’s this guy in Vacaville who will be watching, and we have to change his life!” “How are we going to do that?” “We’ll sing Love is the only truth, and then you’ll start our talk with, “I used to hate myself”. Nov. 13, 2022 will be a day that will go down in infamy. I’m a 30 plus year Truth Student/metaphysician who was suffering from spiritual malnutrition and thus left my Unity church. I’ve been refreshed at the Napa Center for Spiritual Living and decided to tune in that momentous day. So, so many years of living in unworthiness and self hate until, “Hush little baby” stopped that awful inner chatter. And the rest is history. Spirit took over and after service it demanded that I play, “The Right Thing To Do” by Carly Simon. I played it again and again and again, listening to the lyrics, “Loving you is the right thing to do”. I’m 68 and these many (my birthday is on the 29th, being Jewish, this day was my Christmas) and this was the first time I told myself that I love you! Insert cartoon of mind exploding. What’s more, I finally get Christmas! That baby in the manger so worthy of adoration and gifts is me! Hmmm? Where was I? Oh yeah, thanks for delaying your trip home and stopping in Napa and changing my life! Love to both of you!
Hi Gary,
Thank you sooooooo much for tuning in – in every sense of the word. We appreciate you. And we are sending you BIG Love and Blessings on reclaiming your love for you precious self!!!
XOZ