Agent of Change

So… like so many others, I’m now in L.A. with a dream. Of course how to materialize it and how it materializes is the rub.

There had been a vague intention and outline of a plan, but what pushed me into action was more a jumping-out-of-my-skin Gotta Get Out of Here. Sure, the “more opportunities” thing awaited, but not a real job as tsk-tskers would say. I’m Taurean, and the lack of a stable prospect scared the crap out of me, but my Five of Spades birth card of the Wanderer put me on the move lest I blow something up.

The good folks I’ve met at L.A. Meetups have been mirrors to notice my What the Heck. Name, Who You Are, and 90-Day Goal introductions often free-formed into musings of hope and dissatisfaction about ourselves and this city of dreams. I say it without irony because L.A. absolutely still is – both stereotypically and authentically – where people come to see what they are made of. An Indian American music producer /composer from Austin, TX and a Canadian “composer for media” had had successes back home, but both were here with game plans for More. The former is giving himself the classic one-year window to find more gigs, and the latter sojourns twice a year for opportunity tours. Other stories include that of the organizer of the Create Yourself – Los Angeles Meetup and a Japanese American film maker who walk the talk every day by crafting work and a life in the industry that they want to be proud of.

My timeline? Nothing beyond Now. The work? Hmmm…health and wellness? Dare I stretch to say Healing Body, Mind and Soul? Writing? Just “something” to bring in the $$? As life would have it, the ruminating was interrupting by a giant crash as I literally and horrifyingly broke a beautiful piece of artwork in the house I was staying. Dust settled and glass shards and shavings mopped up, the message was clear to have a session with my main ally in life.

The answers from a Willow session are always unexpected and big if you let it be. We discovered quickly that goal-setting was a priority, but (and the “but” is key) the guidance was specific – “within the parameters of joy.” Making that distinction opened up possibilities that hadn’t occurred to me when I was only goal-oriented.

It was a subtlety that brings light-year-measurable forward movement. How different would daily, weekly and monthly goals be if I also slowed down to savor the simple pleasures of life? What if I dropped the judgments about all the things I should do and listened to the voice that connects me to myself and a deeper pride? What would happen?