Every time I get clear and clear the way, I am amazed at what I accomplish. I am remarrying this summer (another manifestation,) and we finally found a home two weekends back. I was so blown away when I walked in and found so many details just as I'd envisioned: the knocked out wall that created a spacious open floor plan within an old ranch-style home, the clear shower and separate bath, the spacious closets, the porches. For a year, in my daily affirmations, I had visualized a cul-de-sac within which my daughter could ride her bike. But, first, I had to get clear, remind myself what I wanted. In the last month of looking at houses, I'd blocked my energy by shutting down in the negativity of my thoughts. I'd begun to believe and state my fear that we weren't going to find anything because we hadn't up until that point–after many, many months–our moving date and wedding and honeymoon looming. I realized what I was doing with my negative energy and I snapped out of it. And told myself to begin again to visualize what I wanted. Literally, within days:

These photos of our new home picture the realtor's staged furnishings. Enticing, huh? Lucky us–or another manifestation come true–we bid on and won, at the Autism Society of Middle Tennessee's Pieces of Hope silent auction, several hundred dollars worth of home staging from Prix De Solde. 

This piece was written before the Nashville's tragic 1000-year flood. While I believe that we can create our realities of what we want in our lives, I also believe that there are factors that we cannot control, such as autism, floods, etc. But, I also firmly believe that we do have the power to choose how we view what can be seen as the more unfortunate circumstances of Life. Likewise, Nashville is proving she is a Phoenix rising from her ashes. As we all can when Life seems to deliver us an unanticipated gut punch. 

Part of my heart twinges and questions the sensitivity of publishing this piece about my new future home just now. (I'm publishing it in part because of ease of pre-scheduling and time issues in light of my catching up from the book and moving, plus what I have pre-written that fits my Monday "All The Rest of Life" theme here.) There is so much unimaginable devastation in our beautiful city presently. So many people have lost so much. The ravages are incomprehensible and my mind is sorting through words and phrases about how to write about it more than I have in my initial thoughts here.  So, for now, I will end with these images.  The Nashville Scene published moving images by a number of photographers in a slide show here. But the ones that truly entranced my eye were by Warne Riker, a photographer who is new to me and about whom I can find little information. But here's his website. 

And lastly, we've started a campaign, locally, called "We Are Nashville." (I have a flood "Twibbon" on my Twitter and Facebook profiles.) I think part of the campaign is about our city's pride and knowing that, dammit, we will get through this and rise! But, it also occurs to me, that we are boldly proclaiming, "We Are Nashville," because we feel slighted and largely ignored by the national media. Exceptions: Thank you, Anderson Cooper. You yummy thang you. And, thank you Boston Globe, also for these images.