Women. We are all the same in this regard.
We all secretly want what we think is impossible.
And almost before we even can imagine the desire – we cross it off our desire list.
Sometimes it seems impossible because we have never had it.
Sometimes it seems impossible because we think it’s too much or too expensive or too outrageous.
Or too impractical.
Too complicated.
But life only begins to get truly interesting in the realm of the impossible.
What we can easily imagine will never truly satisfy us – at least not for very long.
It’s only when we push outside of what’s comfortable does life taste most sweet, and we can live with true generosity.
I wanted a horse.
I can’t really explain it.
But I know enough about my desires to not really have to question myself too much.
It was just fun to want a horse for my entrance in Miami.
The most fun part of a desire is the longing, anyway.
And I was imagining how much fun it would be to have an absolutely spectacular entrance, on the Friday night of the Immersion. It was, after all, the biggest Miami, ever. We had over 800 women registered. I wanted to celebrate the moment, and honor the women who were coming from far and wide.
Meanwhile, this wonderful man that I am dating, is a former Nascar driver. And when we were talking about Miami, he offered to drive me in for my entrance, in a Nascar. Which sounded really fun. But, it turned out that the Convention Center could not get the Nascar in the freight elevator. So, we had to scratch that plan.
Ever imaginative, ever generous, he offered me a ride on the back of his motorcycle. Which was so sweet. But, I have already been there and done that.
And then, sweetheart that he is, he came up with the idea of teaching me how to ride a motorcycle, so I could drive myself in, wearing some kind of cute pink leather motorcycle outfit. Which sounded fun, but I found myself wanting to be a passenger, not a driver. I thought I might be too nervous, as a brand new biker, to drive myself in and then lead my seminar. Although the cute pink biker outfit sounded hot. I was so grateful for the thought.
Then, he offered a SWAT team. Or a bunch of policemen coming and and pretending to put the place on lockdown.
We had a lot of giggles.
As the evening ended, I mentioned that I had never made an entrance on a horse before.
And I had always dreamed of doing that.
What fun that could be…
We left it at that.
In the mean time, I had lots of organizing to do on my own. Miami was 6 weeks away, and I needed a cute outfit. I found the most adorable top, that cost a bloody fortune, at Bergdorfs, and when I tried it on, it screamed ‘Miami’. I figured it was a bargain, in a sense, because I wouldn’t have to wear bottoms, being Miami and all that.
And I had the shoes, already.
But, I wore it to a black tie party before Miami, and had to take it to the dry cleaners.
My dry cleaner swore he could clean it, no problem, even though it had feathers and beads all over the bottom.
And when I went to pick it up, a few days later, he had destroyed it. The feathers looked like a drowned pigeon. And the black beads bled through and the whole bottom of the top was grey instead of white. Whoa.
My entrance was going up in dry cleaning fumes.
I was outraged and despondent all at once.
But my dry cleaner is a good guy, and we came to terms.
The question was – could another blouse be found in time?
We called the buyer at Bergdorfs, and she tracked one down in Dallas.
The very day my replacement blouse arrived, my guy called to tell me he had organized a horse for my entrance in Miami.
Wow.
A HORSE.
I stood for the outfit, he stood for the horse.
Sounds simple and magical.
Which it was.
But, magic requires a strong container.
And no kidding resolve.
The cowboy who owned the horse had to come to the Convention Center and measure the freight elevator. George, the horse, had to be brought by for a run through on Tuesday. The handmade Moroccan saddle had to be found. And the day before the event, George had to have a special tech runthrough to make sure he was unphased by the sound 8 speakers at full tilt, with Will Smith singing “Miami” and screaming women everywhere. When he passed that test, he was taken to the car wash, for an enema, to keep his back end under control during the evening.
At each one of these steps, the whole entrance might have gone up in smoke.
If George did not cooperate, if he couldn’t fit in the elevator, if he couldn’t handle the music, the plug would have had to have been pulled.
Each moment lurching towards a desire is a huge risk for everyone.
And then, Friday night in Miami arrived.
So did the horse, on schedule.
And my guy.
And 3 cowboys.
And hundreds of incredible women from all over the world.
And we went on to have the best Miami, in the history of the School of Womanly Arts.
Can you see the architecture here?
- You must hold your desire lightly in your hand, and take nothing from it, but the enjoyment of having it. Never doubt it, never criticize it, never compromise it. Just enjoy the pleasure of being the human vehicle for your desire to come to be.
- Include others in your desire. Allow everyone to share your vision.
- Live ‘as if’. Dig your ditches, prepare your trenches, get your wardrobe together, it’s coming, so get ready. No wavering.
- Be ready to let it go, and yet don’t ever ever give up.
What about you? Have you experienced an impossible desire become reality? Or, do you have a longing that seems impossible? I’d love to hear from you in the comments . . .