The Universe Hands Out Gold Stars

Lately, the Almighty has been blessing me with messages of encouragement.

Last Sunday at the Farmers Market, we had folks nearly turning themselves inside out to tell us how good our food was.  Honestly, it nearly brought me to tears.  All I could think was that in five years of running the restaurant, I don’t think I heard as much positive feedback as I got in four hours in Lincoln City on a Sunday afternoon. 

And it made me do a quick re-evaluation of exactly why it was that I was doing what I was doing. 

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m sure I have entertained the notion that I resurrected the concession business as my only viable choice after crashing and burning as a restaurant owner.  I haven’t felt any real excitement about it.  It was my fallback position.  Something to keep me busy, something I could do with one hand tied behind my back.  Something to make me at least LOOK like I was vital and productive.

NOT a good attitude to have, as a business owner.  It’s not reasonable to expect success, or even satisfaction, with something if you can’t stir up at least a minimum of enthusiasm for it, let alone passion.

So the Universe blessed me with a Day of Remembrance.  A day of reminding me just how good and successful my little pocket sandwiches are, and hinting at how far they could take me if I started really believing in them again.  Message received.  And appreciated.

Also last week, while we were camped up in the hills without cell service or internet, I nevertheless managed to tote my iPad along on the few occasions we did trek back into civilization to shop.  So I was able to check my email a couple of times during the week.  And lo and behold, I got a notice that someone had read and commented on one of last year’s “November marathon” posts.  November marathon?  Yes…last November, I made a commitment to post every day on one of my blogs…only to be met with the deafening silence of a disbanded community.  It was a depressing experience.  And probably a big reason why I have posted a total of 26 entries so far this entire year.  But like Cyrano de Bergerac, I fight on… 

Anyway, someone posted a comment on one of my anti-poor-bashing posts, thanking me for standing up for the less fortunate among us.  Funny…that particular post was not even one of my best of the month.  But still…it was nice to know that the message got out there, somehow…to some anonymous someone.  And while I was checking out the comment, I went back and read the rest of the essays I had posted that month, and some of them were still damned good.

Which may be a big reason why I have now posted two entries within a couple of days of each other…because maybe I’ve been reminded that I still have something worthwhile to say.  And that I can say it in a way that resonates with someone…if only myself.   

Seems like the Universe habitually throws me a rope and pulls me out of these quagmires of self-doubt in which I am prone to wallow.  Never a moment too soon. 

But then again, never a moment too late.