I have a secret

I think I mentioned once that I have really smart friends. Because if you missed it, I totally do. I can be a little clueless, but it does seem to me that someone up there is looking out for me. Call it what you want to, God, the universe, whatever. But do you ever get "sign-posts"?

Think of the movie Final Destination. Got it? Like once you figured out Death's pattern, and hack it, you don't die (okay, so in the movies, Death changes its pattern to kill you anyway, but for the sake of argument think of the first movie and let's proceed with this blog post).

For example, deja vu. I get that a lot. I've figured out how to fast forward to see what will happen next. Then, because I like to be contrary, I change what I'm supposed to say and watch people fumble. It's hilarious. Also, dreams. Like the time I dreamed about my death when I was in a car full of people. I told the driver, who believed me, and we avoided the speeding red car that wound up hitting the vehicle in front of us instead. No deaths, fortunately. Or, the time I wanted to buy a Jeep. The whole way there, to the test drive, the radio played reports on how dangerous Jeeps were, the flip rates. There were also to ditched Jeeps on the highway. I finally figured it out after the second Jeep flipping, turned around and went home. No Jeep for me!

Sign posts are incredibly important to pay attention to. I'm not always so good at it. I joke sometimes that I need a two-by-four from God in order to truly get it right. Fortunately, He agrees and smacks me regularly.

A year ago someone told me I had to, had to, had to read The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. I have a major aversion to self-help books. They feel formulated and I believe we are all so very individual that formulated books are next to useless. Anyway, so my friend and co-worker said, "This you must do. You must, for it is of good things and goodly information that thou must absorb into thy verrrrrry soul." She may not have sounded quite like that, but you get the gravity with which she spoke, yes? Good.

I said, "Pah! Self-help. Fffftttt!"... in my head. In person I blinked widely and nodded my head at her sage advice, knowing I'd never pick it up. About a month later, a guy I worked with put his fatherly hand upon my shoulder and said, "Mia, if you've never read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, you have to. And while you're picking that book up, also get The Secret. You won't believe how mind altering it is." Again with the blinking and nodding, while in my head I said, "When the f*ck do these people think I have time to read???"

So I went about my merry way. I got divorced, had a hellish move, my house was falling apart, and I was broke. Then one of my best friends, Bronwyn Green called me. I was having probably the best day I'd had in months, which wasn't saying much, but the sun was shining, I'd taken myself out of the house and was donating stuff to Good Will. Pretty much feeling hopeful but wounded. I had no money and was commenting on that when she busted out a lecture.

Now anyone who knows Bron knows she's one of the nicest people on the planet. She's a caretaker by personality and genuinely cares for people. So when Bron busts out a lecture, it's because she's a) really worried, b) tired of hearing your shit, c) thinks you're about to screw up big, or d) all of the above. Circle "d".

She told me there was this thing called the Law of Attraction. I won't give you the whole lecture because it makes her feel bad to know that I started bawling. It was a good bawl though. The kind where you realize your friend was right and you need to suck it up and figure out how to change your attitude. Amidst her words of wisdom, was "Hey, you really need to read this book. It's called The Secret. I think I have a copy you can borrow."

I didn't want to read The Secret. I'm stubborn. I don't like being told what to do. You aren't surprised, are you? I verbally agreed that one day I'd read it, people had told me of this book of wonder. Secretly, I didn't want to. I was rolling my eyes.

I talked to a lady Bron and I both know. We were talking about ghosts because I have them in spades, and because I've suddenly developed this ability to find missing people. Don't ask, because I really don't understand it either. Guess what book she told me to read. Yup. The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. This is the point where any other rationally thinking human being would be like, "Gee, Mia, don't you think you ought to pick up that book already? Seems like you need to know stuff."

Yet I didn't. In fact, it wasn't until I was on the phone with ... can you believe, I don't remember?! That's insane. Okay, anyway, I was talking to someone. I think it was my friend Roxy, who doesn't write, but I could be wrong about the who. Anyway, it was mentioned again. I happened to have my laptop up and running (for, when do I not?) and discovered that it was on Netflix Watch Now. So I bit the bullet, finally recognizing the damn sign posts.

It's an hour and twenty minutes long and it's going to change my life. People. If you have not read or seen The Secret, you must. You MUST see it. I don't care what you believe, or what you call the driving force in our world, but I feel like God just reached down and said, "You see? I have this plan. It's why you pray and it's why I tell you that life is meant to be lived abundantly. Remember that verse: think on these things? Yeah, I had a reason for that Mia. It's how I do things. Now go forth and do as you're told."

Wow. Just Wow. If you don't want to read, then watch. It's amazing.