Day 3 – abundance

Family vaca day 2 …and we’re off to Muir Woods on our way to Sonoma.  On the way out of San Fran we crossed over the Golden Gate Bridge and I was reminded of a time when my husband and I traveled to Healdsburg for a wedding back in 2009.  We crossed over the Bay Bridge and did not have enough $ to pay the toll, so we were ticketed by mail for double the cost instead.  This way we could use our credit card to pay for it, which at the time was our main source of currency.  Remembering this moment brought me to a place of gratitude for how far we have come and how abundant life is right now.  It has been a big shift to move from a mindset of scarcity to a mindset of abundance.  I am definitely still working on this, but must say it’s moments like these that put things into perspective.

In September of 2008 we moved across the country with a promise of a better life/lifestyle.  A promise of more sunshine, more fun, more $ - all around more-ness.  My husband had a promised job with a big clothing company, I with the promise of managing the yoga studio I had been working at for a couple of years.  We had promised salaries, promised positions – lots of promises.  In the end that’s all they were – empty promises.  The economy crashed the month after we moved – October 2008.  The studio I was to work at ran out of cash and didn’t open, the clothing company did major cutbacks and had a hiring freeze. Fuck. Here we were in LA in a super nice (and rather expensive) apartment, with a car lease and bills to pay and barely any money left in savings (had to pay moving expenses and 1^st months rent).  So we did what any great American would do. Begged our families for money, got a roommate and lived off of credit cards for a bit over a year.  $30,000+ in debt later and we still had no idea how we were going to make it out here.  We did what we could to survive.  I worked retail, the hubby took internships and worked in restaurants.  We ate a piece of humble pie and pounded the pavement to make our dreams come true.  Looking back I can see that, but in the moment our only thought was – survive and don’t look back.  You spend enough time living in survivor mode and it kind of takes over.

3 years later and so much has changed.  Debt is down to under $5,000 total – this is HUGE! And we have money in savings with a tiny bit left over every month. Yet I still find myself regularly hung up on this idea that we don’t have enough.  So today I present these questions: “how does it serve me to think about the have nots?”  “when is enough, enough?”

I have been working hard this year to appreciate all that I do have.  To recognize how far we have come, how hard we have worked to create this amazing life for ourselves out here.  We live in a super cute bungalow with a shared courtyard and awesome neighbors that we can afford sans roommate, we have the greatest and cutest dog that has ever lived, wonderful and supportive family and friends, 2 brand new cars, less debt than a majority of this country, awesome jobs with bosses that appreciate us and recognize our hard work and we are surrounded by an abundance of possibility.

I have created an amazing life for myself.  In this past year I left a job that was no longer serving me to concentrate on my company (I own a fucking company!) that is consistently growing into something magnificent.  I have the most wonderful students that push me to grow and be a better person each and every day.  I completed a year-long certification in Yoga Therapy and entered into a 300 hour yoga teacher training program with a teacher I adore - Christy Marsden at Yoga Blend (check it out!).  I have learned the true meaning/goal of yoga (of life) is to experience more sustained joy and I am learning how to create that for myself each and every day!  I am learning who I am and who it is I want to be.  From the outside looking in, I am realizing (just now) that I have it all! Sure there will be more work, of course I would love to vacation more and be completely debt free.  But in the end we are doing alright. We are doing more than alright.  We can afford to pay for the bridge toll!! We have arrived bitches!! 2013 watch out! One Down Dog, LLC takeover coming your way!!