Monday, August 13, 2012

Jolly good!

Another fabulous gift landed at my feet a few weeks ago.
My bestie of 50 years, Marilyn, rings me up and says, "Pack yore steamer trunk, old gell ... we're going on holiday!"
And I say, "Waaaat you, cheeky old gell, is this bosh you say?"
"No bosh," she says, "we're off to London on the 18th of August!"
"Smashing!" I say!
"Brilliant!" she says!
Ohhh yes ... spot on! We're off to London for two nights, then we board the Queen Mary 2 for a seven night transatlantic crossing to New York. One night in NY where we'll have dinner with my beautiful daughter, then home. What could possibly be more jolly good than that!

You see, dear Marilyn has worked in the travel biz her entire life and is offered these smashing deals on brilliant trips from time to time. I am beyond thrilled when she occasionally pulls one out of her carpet bag and shares it with me. Like the Un. Bee. Leave. A. Bull. Mediterranean cruise we went on last year. There aren't enough jolly goods or better yet, bravissimos! to describe that one.

This time she's also pulled an amazing hotel deal out of her carpet bag, for Rubens at the Palace, which is apparently right by Buckingham Palace where we will actually watch the changing of The Guard.
And Marilyn really wants to ride the London Eye while we're there, the famous Ferris wheel. At first I told her she'd have to go it alone because no-can-do Ferris wheels. But then I decided that I'll suck it up and go  because you're in an enclosed capsule, and not those leg-dangling, life-threatening, rickety chairs. And the view of London from up there is supposed to be brilliant, ol' chap!
The next day we'll have the entire day to kick around London ... to shop, sight see and eat ... er, I dunno, mutton? Bangers and mash? Yorkshire pudding? Whatever.

But I'd love to go here:
And see this:
And go here:
 And see charming places like this:
And then the next day we'll board the QM2 and do lots of this. And SO much more!
So needless to say, I'm very excited about this trip and am especially grateful to have the opportunity to go with my BFF. Because let's face it ... this is Bucket List stuff. But I'm not telling you about this trip to be all smug and la-dee-da braggy. I'm telling you this because I want you to know that when you expect great things to happen in your life, great things happen in your life. If you decide that you will NOT settle for mediocrity, that only the most fabulous and smashing and joyful things will come your way (and you truly, truly believe they will ... that's key!) ... guess what? Pretty sure they will. Cuz that's just how the Universe rolls.

IF, on the other hand, you think your life is in a rut or a downward spiral or just plain sucks, and that you probably are not ever going to have the fabulous things in your life that you see other people get ... it's super likely that you will just never get the fabulous things in your life that you see other people get. That's it. It's really not complicated. That's just how the Universe rolls.

I feel so lucky to have grasped this concept years ago, this power of belief ... and to have come to truly understand it and live it. I, once a fairly curmudgeon-y, complaining and negative person, am now the promoter of optimism and dreams. Because once you KNOW that it will, all that joy and abundance begins to march in your direction. It comes to find you because you KNOW it will.

And of course, gratitude is everything. The more grateful you are for what you have, the more you will have to be grateful for. We've all heard this so many times, but do we all live it?

So pack your steamer trunk too. Throw the rubbish overboard and re-pack it with the finery of your dreams.

Until my return .......

Michelle

(I mean, would it kill the Queen to crack a smile? Just once??)