There were so many GREAT title possibilities for this post. I mean, Magic Wanda is pretty freaking awesome but there was also – Help Me Wanda! and It’s ME time! But given the numerous references to magic wands during my coach training over the weekend AND my first trip to a Wiccan store to purchase a pendulum today – Magic Wanda! is the stand out winner.I had to have blood drawn today for my follow up with the awesome Doctor A next week. I’m happy to report that my new thyroid med (Armour) seems to be working! But we’ll know for sure when we get the blood work results next week. But ANYWAY – I’m at the lab place and this beautiful, black woman named Wanda calls me from the waiting room. As I’m pulling off my coat and rolling up my sleeves, Wanda asks me to verify my last name and date of birth. “Bevill. 4/8/71,” I say, “and its getting further away everyday!” This gets a chuckle out of Wanda who responds with, “that’s alright. I’ve already been there and once you get there it’s alright because once you get there…what you mean is what you mean. You know what I mean?” And I swear to god, I do. I know exactly what she means.She goes on, “You know – you spend your whole life keeping things to yourself and not saying what you mean because you don’t want to hurt nobody’s feelings but…when you get there you’re like THIS is how I really feel because now – IT’S ME TIME! IT’S ME TIME! You know what I mean?” We are laughing hard by this point and I push past my usual inclination to cut and run from such intimate contact with strangers because, well, because I’m a box. And I’m a box because of an eternal fear that I will come up short in being able to hold my own in such a powerful exchange.I keep going, ” Oh yeah! We just keep it all inside but we need to get it out and say how we really feel!” She says, “That’s right!” There’s a short pause now and she warns me about the impending pinch and pushes the needle into the vein of my right arm. As the bloods puddles into the first collection vial, she continues, “It’s like my husband. I mean, he’s a good person and all but…,” and, as she pauses to switch to the second collection vile, I concur, “Well, of course he is.” “But,” she says, “he don’t want to upset nobody. He won’t stand up to everybody telling him what to do.” I understand completely and add, “Mine, too. They can’t stand the conflict. They don’t want to fight with anybody.” Wanda says, ” Exactly! But me – I tell him you can’t let all these people control everything. So, I just have to speak up and say NO – this is how it’s going to be!” We are laughing even more and then she continues, “You know we take care of everybody else. As woman, we take care of everybody else first. We take care of the kids, the husband, the sister, the cousins and then we don’t take care of ourselves until the very end and by then it’s too late. Life is short. You’ve got to put yourself first now. You’ve got to do what makes you happy RIGHT NOW.”I am stunned – almost speechless. All I can muster is to nod in agreement and grin like a fool. Are you kidding me? Is this divine goddess really standing right in front of me? Delivering the exact message that my soul is longing to hear?She goes further still, “I don’t want to talk bad about anybody but some of these people around here…They show up and say things like ‘oh – I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning’ or I’m just having a terrible day.’ I want to tell them ‘Then don’t get outta bed – nobody made you! Don’t come around here!'” I jump in, “And spread it around all over here!” “YES!” she agrees, “It’s a choice.” “And you have to choose to be happy, ” I say. “EXACTLY! It’s a choice!” she concurs. I couldn’t have been more awestruck and overjoyed if the Dalai Freaking Lama himself had showed up to deliver this message to me. As I’m pulling my coat back on and heading out to the lobby, I tell her, ” Thank YOU, Wanda. You made my day – God bless you!” Wanda beams back at me, “You, too. THANK YOU!”THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, PEOPLE! When you show up, when you pay attention, when you open up to strangers THAT’S WHEN THE MAGIC HAPPENS. The universe totally digs delivering its messages of inspiration through the random people who appear in our lives – it’s like magic. Hell, IT IS MAGIC. Show up! Speak up! Look at the man, the woman, the SOUL behind the counter and say, “Thank YOU!” As then ask them how their day has been and MEAN it. They might sometimes tell you to fuck off but most of the time they are overjoyed to be treated like a human being. And, if you are really feeling on your game, checkout their name tag and actually USE THEIR NAME. It’s crazy I know but trust me – that’s how the magic happens. That’s how life will show up for you in ways you never dreamed possible. We are here to love one another. THAT is everyone’s divine purpose. Like it or not. So, BE THE LIGHT! Choose JOY! What have you got to lose? With much love, Jenni aka uptight yogini
