Flashback to 15 years ago...
I had just signed the lease on the little Edwardian storefront that was to become my magical Goddess shop. It was located near the Panhandle in San Francisco, and I was living in a small town 30 miles or so away. The time it took to get into the City in the morning was brutal, so I was looking for a room to rent closer to my new place of business.
Since opening a shop is an expensive endeavor, it didn’t even occur to me to look at vacant apartments. San Francisco was not plagued by the impossibly high rents it’s known for now, but housing was still pricey. So I focused exclusively on finding an affordable room in a shared living situation.
I looked at so many places. Nothing was a fit, and I was disheartened. Commuting over an hour each way every day was unfathomable. I was doing it anyway, coming in to sign papers and source inventory for the shop, but I couldn’t sustain the drive.
Every time I dropped by the property — initial drive by, viewing, lease signing — I saw a sign hanging from the building right next door. The sign advertised a two-bedroom apartment for rent. It didn’t occur to me to inquire. After all, I wasn’t seeking my own studio or one-bedroom apartment, let alone a two-bedroom.
One day, after viewing a completely untenable living situation a few blocks away, I was standing in front of the shop, bonding with the property and visioning its future. I didn’t even have the keys yet, as the current tenant was in the process of moving out. I just liked to be with the space and praise it.
I glanced at that sign on the building next door and imagined how nice it would be to live right next door to this beautiful shop I was going to create. In that moment, I said what the heck. There would be no harm in viewing the place.
It turned out to be a very spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a lovely view of the tall eucalyptus trees that made their home in the Panhandle. The place felt good. It would be a dream to live here. But there was simply no way I could swing the rent.
The night I viewed that apartment, I called my good friend. I was wistful that this spectacularly convenient apartment was out of reach. She was wise.
She said: If you could ask your angels for anything, what would it be?
I said: I would definitely ask to live in that apartment.
She said: Call the landlord.
So I did.
I called the landlord and explained that I loved the place, but I simply couldn’t afford it. He cut me off mid-story.
He said: Move in, and pay me half the rent until you find a roommate.
And so I did. Simple.
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I count this as one of the many miracles of this chapter in my life. As I set out to serve Spirit, Spirit opened many doors for me.
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In my year-long Wisdom Program, the month of May is dedicated to a personal creative project, aligned with the Seeds of Wisdom theme of "Creation."
My own Creation project this month (yes, I do the homework alongside program participants) is 15 minutes of daily writing. These wonderful little memory-stories are emerging, like the one above and this one. The image is a snapshot of the Edwardian storefront after I signed the lease, but before I moved in.