“One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it.”

~ Oogway, “Kung Fu Panda”

Do you ever find yourself prompted to venture onto the path of the unknown under curious circumstances?

If you answered yes  yes, we would likely have some very interesting stories to exchange.

My extensive “I-can’t-believe-she-did-that” resume includes pairing up for a New Year’s Eve outing two days before the holiday with a complete stranger (more commonly known as the ex-husband), and the trip to Las Vegas for a Louise Hay conference precipitated by a Facebook posting for volunteers.

The trip to Los Angeles in March came about in the usual way.

I rented a Shiva Rea and Exhale Core Fusion DVD from the library one childless afternoon and did nothing with it for weeks. After a run through with one of Shiva’s DVDs, I was entranced. I felt sexy, feminine and strong. I had to meet her.

Let’s put this part of the story on pause while I introduce the next thread of the story: The Man.

Few trips are ever made on my part unless there is love involved. Love of myself, love of food, love of family—I have very few blocks if the reward of contentment is at the end. The Man resides in Los Angeles when he isn’t on the road. I have no close friends or family there and making a trip solely to see him never sat well with me.

We weren’t exclusive. I needed a cover and Shiva provided the most reasonable alibi. Makes all the sense in the world for a woman from Kansas to go to Venice, California so she can meet a yoga goddess, yes?

Naturally I sought direction on how the trip would play out from my spiritual advisor.

“Uh uh, I don’t think you’re going on this trip,” Ruby stated matter-of-factly.
“What?  I’m going on this trip Ruby!  I have to go, I already purchased the flight.”
“I don’t know,” she offered. “I just see rain or maybe it’ll be delayed.”

Rain.

In a figurative sense it did rain for weeks before I was in sight of a plane. The emphatic yes to stay with a Facebook friend/college acquaintance eroded to silence as the countdown to my arrival loomed.

My ex conveniently found his own “workshop” to attend the same weekend and left care for our four–year-old  in limbo. And no storm is complete without lightning and thunder—the negotiations to see The Man when he returned to LA broke down. Frustration resulted in the 2012 version of disdain for another individual: I was blocked from (one of) his Facebook pages.

Perhaps it was the money that was already spent on the flight. Maybe it was just the need to prove that I had the balls to pull off yet another crazy plan, sans the net of family or friends to fall into for comfort.

The line between delusion and reality, in love, needed to be rubbed away. I was going to Los Angeles (dammit!); to hell with the line. In that moment I pushed my fate into the arms of the universe.

Slowly, the sun began to break through the clouds. I found an interesting hostel just off the beach for the perfect price on my substitute teaching income.

Who knew that a control freak’s hang up would actually have positive outcomes? Fearing what would happen if our child spent the weekend with his own mother, my ex decided to cancel his plans and take “Critter” instead.

And then, there’s all the extra miracles that get thrown in for added effect.

The mechanical delay in Dallas that earned me a free night in a hotel instead of the six-hour wait at LAX for bus services to resume to Santa Monica.

How can I forget the cute stranger? Struggling to reverse his rash of unfortunate events to get back to Wisconsin, he asked sheepishly for bus fare to travel back to the hostel I was staying in to retrieve items. The Universe knows I’m geographically challenged and the extra help was more than appreciated.

I can’t make this stuff up folks, the trip took on its own life.

As for The Man? Well, I found that philosophical differences tend to diminish as the physical distance between two entities decreases. You can fill in the rest.

Did I ever meet Shiva? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. I ran into Shiva…the store…on the 3rd Street Promenade.

Sitting by the Pacific Ocean while watching the sun set, I realized the love exchange (faith) between myself and the universe  is what ultimately sustained me. The contentment of knowing no matter where here is you’ll find everything that you truly are.

ShaMecha Simms loves cheese and the flexibility of being minimally employed.  When she’s not alternately hugging and chastising her only son, she enjoys daydreaming about being a Pussycat Doll and singing back up for Cee Lo Green.  Currently she is working on undoing negative karmic bonds and convincing loved ones she is crazy with purpose (and not crazy just to be crazy).

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Editor: Brianna Bemel