Reading the letter taped to our front door, we stared at each other, deer in headlights, mouths dropped in disbelief.

“Tenants must evacuate the property in 30 days”

Wait, what?

The landlord knew I  moved into the house 25 days prior.
When she came to inspect the flood damage, she assured us the carpets would be pulled up.
She knew I half my boxes sat in storage, yet to be unpacked.

— RECORD SCRATCH–

After 7 years in Denver, I finally decided to trade in the 3 am sirens for the sound of silence and move in with a best friend, who’d lived in the same condo in Boulder, CO for 3 years. Excited for a fresh start, I parted ways with my hand-painted furniture, released bags upon bags to Goodwill and committed to my cute white cruiser with brown leather seats as my main form of transportation. I was set up for success.

Then, one legal-sized yellow piece of paper ripped the rug right out from me.

30 days? Why was the landlord doing this to us? Where would I live? 

Consumed with fear, my heart started to race, my blood began to boil. 

This can’t be happening.

But in fact, it was.

Fight or flight is referred to as  “a physiological reaction that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.”  

Being evicted wasn’t perceived.
I was sideswiped by a survival sucker punch.

For several days I lashed out in heated moments of irrational anger and deep sadness. 

What did I do to deserve this?

The truth was, I didn’t do anything wrong. I had no choice to accept the situation for what it was …  shitty. 

The Power of Perspective

I’m no stranger to stumbling blocks. When lemons are launched my way, I do my best to whip up a tasty batch of freshly squeezed lemonade. From my MS diagnosis in 1997 to the death of my best friends, to being thrown off my bike and losing my two front teeth., life has served its fair share of curveballs.

However, this felt different, almost…deliberate. There was no legitimate reason for us to move out other than the landlord’s selfish attempt to avoid replacing the remains of the flooded carpet.

This is the moment we have a choice. How to respond.

The sucker punch could knock me down  or I could pull myself up by my bootstraps and keep on swinging. 

Door #1  “I don’t want to deal with any of this. Why me? It’s not fair!

Door #2: “ It’s a window of opportunity!  I wonder what the Universe has up her sleeve!” 

A lot happens in 30 days. 

I chose Door #2

I threw my hands in the air and shouted to the sky,  “OK, Universe, show me what you’ve got!”

I’m sure you’ve felt what it’s like to stand over an edge, trembling with the uncertainty. Do you leap and trust you’ll land on your feet? Or, do you step away from the ledge, scared to death you’ll plumet to your demise.

This is the moment Fear is no longer welcomed and we invited our old trusted friend, Faith, to come in. 

Faith oozes confidence.
Faith embodies freedom.
Faith is the friend who says it’s all going to be alright.
Faith looks fear in the eyes and says, “move aside, it’s my turn”

Life happens for you, not too you. 

I didn’t want to sign a year lease and buy a bunch of furniture. I didn’t want to live with anyone else other than my friend. With only weeks to work with, my options were limited but I held onto hope. I scrolled Craigslist for furnished sublets but everything led to a dead end. With the days flying by, I didn’t know what to do. Feeling defeated I felt my eyes well up with tears. With each drop I released resentment and frustration. Exhausted with emotion, I felt a wave of acceptance run over my body. My inner victim raised a small white flag. 

I couldn’t fight anymore. I didn’t want to fight anymore. 

I surrendered.

That’s when I felt the nudge.
Something inside said I should go public and post what was happening, on Facebook.
As someone who shared a lot of my life on social media, this didn’t come out of left field, but the idea brought with it new fears: my pride. I didn’t want to be a charity case. I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me. Everyone was so happy I’d moved into my new place! I didn’t want to look like a failure. Again, I had to flip the story.

How could I beg the Universe to show me a sigh if I wasn’t willing to  show up for myself? 

“I could use a little pick me up and some help. You’ll never believe this one…”

Gulp. 

I clicked “publish”.

Almost instantly I got my first notification. In fact, the comments came in faster than I could respond! Some felt sorry. Others suggested we take the landlord to court.  I now had places to crash and shoulders to lean on.

And then…

–RECORD SCRATCH–

Up pops a message from a high school friend I hadn’t seen in almost 20 years. 

 “Why don’t you come to Kona, Hawai!! You’ll love the weather. The kids and I moved in with my boyfriend so you can have my house all to yourself while you figure out what you want to do Oh, and don’t worry about paying rent! Plus my Dad says you can borrow his pickup truck, too. 

I stared at my computer screen. The words “come to Kona, Hawaii” dancing before my eyes. 

Wait, was she being serious?

Little did she know that for 10 years, I’d literally day dreamed that one day, I’d live in Hawaii. I envisioned island life and felt the aloha spirit. In my mind, Hawaii was paradise. 

Holy. Freaking. Moly. 

She WAS being serious.

My chest tightened. My heart began to race. Only this time I wasn’t filled with feeling overwhelmed with feel, I was overcome with excitement!

Oh boy, I had a lot to think about. 

Or, did it? 

Everything inside me wanted to scream, yes!  But everything inside me also thought I was completely crazy. Could I afford it? Would I get a storage unit? What would my parents think? Who am I to deserve my dreams coming true?

Sensing my hesitation, every day I was greeted with a FB message from my friend listing all the reasons I’d be crazy not to come. She’s set me up with snorkel gear. I could dive with the dolphins and swim with Manta Ray. Ahi Poke o’ plenty! It was as if she’d be offended if I didn’t accept her invitation. 

In telling this story, there’s one detail I must share:

Six months prior, I somehow stumbled into the website, Beat of Hawaii. If I signed up for their newsletter I’d be entered into a lottery to win an all expense paid trip to the islands. 

Sadly, I didn’t win.

But, for some reason, I never unsubscribed. 

Every week I read about cheap flights to Hawaii. Every week I felt the nudge of the newsletter.

I’d begged the Universe to send me a sign.

She delivered it directly to my inbox:  $167 ticket to paradise. 

With one click of a button, I literally turned my fight… into a one way flight.

I like to say being kicked out of my house catapulted me to Kona.
Losing my home made my dream come true. 

“Life Happens For You, Not Too You”

Taking on this mantra can be easier said than done.
But, it is possible. 

Every day we have the choice on how to react and how we respond. My advice: step back and acknowledge the situation for what it is. It’s hard to find a silver lining in the eye of a storm, but you can give yourself permission to be open to a new perspective.

Do yourself a favor: Don’t fight life and don’t fight yourself for what you can’t control. Facing challenges in life is inevitable, but how you respond to them is up to you. You must trust what shows up is part of a bigger plan. You must trust you’ll be guided to where you want to be.

You never know you find yourself flung through a wide-open window of opportunity to Kona, Hawaii, too!