Transcription
Around the Cosmic Campfire by Tony Wright
Chapter 10: Destin
My sister had never been to Destin. Also an Iowa girl, almost five years my senior, I vowed to drive her down there on her next visit to Nashville to see me, from Des Moines. So when I happened onto a really nice used Chevy Lumina in 1998, we decided to hook it on down there for a couple of days via the open road. The car had been owned by an elderly couple, and it was one of those not very hip cars of the time for a younger woman, but wonderfully and amazingly, almost like new—actually pristine. It was a truly good ride. Ultimately, we were Destin-bound. Also, we were quite naive. We would be free and let the wind blow us where we were to go, but we had no idea you had to book a room way out, way in advance in a tourist season. And that was almost an unspoken Florida tourist law. Well, it was pretty much just common sense and logic: yeah, book a room way ahead. We did not.
We packed a few things for a three-day trip. We grabbed a nominal amount of cash and headed out the door, cranking up the radio and heading down Interstate 65, all points as far south as we could go before hitting emerald water. We didn't even know how much rooms would cost for a night. We passed the giant peach water tower, and the pecan and the fresh peach stands. We were incredibly glad we had air conditioning in the car; it was hotter than vacation hell outside. Other than that, we had no worries and were excited to be on our way. We hadn't had a trip together for a long, long time.
It took us almost 12 hours to figure out—between the eight-hour drive down and the four hours of driving around Destin looking for a room—that we were not going to find a hotel room. I was sick of the car, and we were fit to be tied. And I was hot, tired, hungry, and secretly nearly near tears, but I decided to prevail. I simply asked my cosmic helpers for some help. Angels and guys were always good to me and helped me in these small situations that were ridiculous to bother God with.
In this endless and maddening driving around Destin, I got lost and ended up on a dead-end road. I was about to be disgusted with myself when I realized, at the very end of this road where I was forced to turn around, was a bed and breakfast. It was beautiful. I was so excited and got out and went to see if they had a room. And they didn’t—not that night—but they had a vacancy for the next night if we were interested. When I found out that the room was almost $300 for the night, I was forlorn, crestfallen, really. I thanked them, and we left to try to find our way to something to rent that was less expensive.
Just as the sun was going down and we’d been driving for another half hour, I saw a “For Rent” sign outside of a condo-looking building and, just out of sheer desperation, called the management company. Amazingly, someone answered. They had a condo room for us that was reasonable, but it wasn’t a great place, but at least it was a place. I was grateful, but pouting. Had we only known and not just blown in like the wind, we wouldn’t be so tired and on the verge of cranky. It was even too late to go find the ocean.
We unloaded our things into the marginally passable pink and turquoise room with its white plastic furniture and asked for somewhere to eat. We were directed by a stranger to a seafood spot not too far, and I decided we should have a great time no matter what. It was a place that I wondered if we could afford, as I hadn’t bought much vacation travel cash, and I knew my sister traveled light in cash but had a minimal card or two. We decided to just blow it out and have a great time, including a fancy meal, and even if we had to go home the next day, it would have been worth it just to drive down together, glimpsing the ocean, having a special meal. All would be incredibly well.
During our dinner, I said to her, as I got this knowing it happened between the salad and the entree, “We’re going to stay at the incredible B&B tomorrow. I’m going to call them and book it on my Merrick Express card. $300 bucks or not, we’re doing it. We drove all this way, so I think we should have something special, even for one night. We can afford it, just wait and see.” She looked at me, and I thought I looked as if I looked nuts as I explained, for some reason, it was just going to be fine. I just knew.
Although the trip in itself was something I had no business trying to afford at that time, as I was a single mom and there was little extra in the budget, I was still certain that things would be fine. I had to remember to focus on no worries—just focus on how much you do for other people, how much you deserve to have some good moments in your life—just focus on how all that you want can come to you when you have no fear and live in total faith that you can manifest all that you want.
I picked up my cell phone and booked it just before dessert, after her shrimp and whatever it was I had because I had grown allergic to crustaceans at that time, and after splitting a dessert, we left to go back to our mediocre spot. We had a bit of a walk to the end of the restaurant parking lot, now dark and almost 11 pm. As we approached my car, parked off in one far corner of the parking lot in the dark, we saw something on the pavement, almost under my car, protected from the eyes of others and just there waiting for us. It was a roll of bills. Incredibly, it was almost three hundred dollars—exactly what we needed for the bed and breakfast for a night. I never turned away anything I asked for that comes to me.
My sis looked at me as if I was—as if it was almost frightening—and I laughed so hard I was so excited. Did it rain money on us? Did the cash angel come by and discover that my car was locked and she couldn’t put it in there, so she stashed it right under it? Should I hand it to the young man who was parking cars so we could turn it in? Was I nuts? Why would he do that? What were the chances he would ever, in a million years, turn it into someone when I drove away? Why would I look away from a gift that had manifested right under my feet? I would take the gift, and I was astounded and grateful. Was that wrong of me? It didn’t feel like it was wrong at the time. It was the most exciting thing to see manifestation work in such a blatant and obvious way and so fast. We both have never forgotten it—how impossible that seemed and how wonderful the bed and breakfast was, with the pool and the poolside tiki bar, how beautiful the chairs were just for us on the white sand, the antique decor and the amenities that we both truly did deserve: the fluffy white bathrobes, the morning muffins, the herb teas, and our personal sun chairs at the water’s edge. All was in divine order.
I wanted my sister to start to see that life is such a sweet and exciting ride and that we can have and do anything we want. We are creators of our own reality, and when we are sure of what we want, when we are open, and when we allow it in, it will come to us. We must know what we want, and when we ask for it, it must come to us. That is the physics of the universe, and it can come very, very fast. The last piece is to remember to be grateful, to say thank you for all that comes to you as you share all that you can. I have paid that parking lot gift money forward many, many times down through the years.
Indeed, in the end, this beautiful game of bringing forth what you want is one huge lesson in learning to not only trust but to have gratitude, and that I certainly do have. Through this divine intervention of generosity of God, I find myself daily so grateful for all that comes when I need it. I’m excited to share the abundance and excess when others are in need. Is it wrong to always be asking for more? I feel the more we seek and the more we receive, the more we have to give to others. Rarely do impoverished people share much, as they do not usually have enough to give away. The more we have, the more we can share. Being prosperous helps to spread the wealth in all forms and is certainly a beautiful goal. It is all a graceful dance in the bountiful life, and I learn more and more each day how to gently dance the financial steps. I envision and then make a request. I make sure my antenna is up and I tune in, and then I’m open to receive it when it shows up. Truth be known, my antenna is always up; my radio station is always tuned in to the highest station I can find, which I call the God station. The last step is to transmit gratitude as I share the gift of divine charity with others, always. I know more is on the way. Am I lucky or am I blessed? I don’t know, but what a momentous, incredible life.