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I found the decision incredibly difficult. I was looking and comparing places for HOURS!
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My intuition kept pointing me to a very unlikely place that seemed to make no sense.
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In the end, because I work for God, I listened and selected this āout-of-the-wayā location.
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It was:
1. a crazy distance from my friend in LAās home
2. a crazy distance from both the airport AND the beach
3. near the western hemisphereās largest Buddhist Temple (Plus!)
4. barely described - owner just spoke about temple and 2 photos of room were kind of fuzzy.
5. Almost concerningly inexpensive
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Headās Math: 4 minuses and 1 plus.
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Heartās Math: God said This one. It won.
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***
How often do you override your inner guidance because it does NOT track your logical plans or expectations?
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Once there, I quickly realized that it was of course the exact perfect location for me.
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Turned out, my friend wasnāt feeling well, so I didnāt NEED to be where she lived and wouldāve been more isolated had I picked on that criteria.
Did I know that? No.
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Next, I ended up not wanting to go to the beach.
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And then my Temple visit was soo powerful it made me cry in public.
It was the perfect location to sit and feel how we are ALL the same, regardless of what we call God or Universe.
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A nun approached me while I was walking around the temple and told me, āthe service is about to start.ā I had looked the night before to get tickets to attend a Light Ceremony but couldnāt get admission.
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I had been LOOKING to attend āsomethingā and suddenly I was found & Ā invited.
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I went where she directed and took a seat. It was a chanting service. They were chanting a very ancient and important story.
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Because of divine timing, I arrived at the only section where the chanting was subtitled on the screen in English, so I could follow.
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I read aloud in English, while feeling the power of their unified chanting in their language. I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy and connection and just started to cry in gratitude.
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(I am tearing up right now just remembering itā¦)
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My āshould never have been picked placeā literally had everything I needed: space, price, proximity to all the shops in the world, just 20 walking minutes away and super high speed Internet.
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In fact, all I really needed now was a backpack, because I had way too much weight in my 3 suitcases.
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I set out walking to reach the Salvation Army Thrift store, so I could get a cheap backpack. š
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Iām walking along a massive, multi lane California Street with a big median in the middle. Ā Suddenly, I feel the urge to cross the street, even though there is nothing different on the other side.
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I am nowhere near a crosswalk and well aware that California is a place likely to have and enforce jaywalking laws. Yet, the urge to cross the street persists.
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Looking carefully, I cross. Now on the opposite side of the road, I only walk about 100ft farther before I spot āsomethingā on the grass near the sidewalk. I can see what it is before I even get close, and my breath catches.
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Itās a backpack!
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And even crazier, itās a backpack in teal, my favorite color.
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As I walk up to it, cautiously, because heyā¦ This is the United States of America! People do weird things here.
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Now I can see that it is in fact a backpack, on the small side andā¦ Completely and totally and perfectly EMPTY.
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The main compartment is completely empty andā¦ Clean!
And the side zipper pocket is visibly open and empty andā¦ Clean!
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