Yep.  That’s right.  The universe will make a liar out of you. She will test you. And you will do things you never thought possible.  This is what I’d tell the younger, more dogmatic, inexperienced version of me.

Rewind the clock just one year and I’d have called you crazy if you told me I’d be:

a. living in NYC

b. without a car

c. with roommates

Living in Manhattan proper had been a life long dream of mine, but somewhere along the years I stuffed the idea away.  “ New York is too expensive,” I told myself. ” I’ll never be able to afford to live the life I want there.  I don’t want to live with roommates – I’m a grown up! And I can’t possibly manage to live without a car! ”  (Never mind the fact that millions of other folks here don’t have a car and they manage just fine).

Then one day, the unexpected happened.  I was given the opportunity to move to my beloved NYC.  All I had to do was find a place to live and move my belongings.  Really, it was that simple.  Same job, just a new location.  For the first 3 days or so after I found out I was moving, my emotions teetered from elation (yea! My dream is coming true) to paralyzing fear (I’m never going to find a place  to live in such a short amount of time).   But, everything came together in a swift and smooth fashion and before I knew it, I had a place to call home in the city that never sleeps, I sold my car and half my belongings, and I won the roommate lottery!

To do so, I had to learn to get out of my own way.  I had to let go of whatever image I had built up about being a grown up.  I had to toss aside the ridiculous notion that a car equated to freedom. I had to be courageous and let all of those beliefs go.  I had to do so in order to live my dream and push beyond merely existing.

Thank you, Universe.