Fear...

Fear, Laurel, like joy, usually means that you're exactly where you should be, learning what you're ready to learn, about to become more than who you were.

Whoohoo!!
    The Universe

Actually, Laurel, you're always where you should be. Point being, just because you fear something doesn't mean you should avoid it... usually.

Dang...

 It's been so long, Laurel, I'm quite sure you've forgotten our secret handshake, haven't you?

Hmmmm...

How about our code for saying, "I love you"?

Dang...

Then I doubt you'll recall my solemn promise to let you know once you began approaching exactly the right time and exactly the right place, with enough life lessons under your belt to enable you to finally stop struggling, start soaring, and begin living the life of your wildest dreams?

Well, if not, the following might not make much sense:

"You're getting hot! Steaming hot! Really HOT!! Ouch, you're so hot! Smoking, red-hot-chili-pepper, volcano, extremely, DOUBLE-HOT! HOT! HOT! NOW, Laurel, NOW-W-W-W-W-W-W!"

I $l%o^v1e you,
    The Universe

You didn't think I'd forget, did you, Laurel?

Kindness prevails

 Always, Laurel, kindness prevails. No matter how things appear, nor how humbling a task, nor how unkind they've been.

Always,
    The Universe

Pretty simple strategy, huh, Laurel?

Happiness always returns

 Laurel, happiness always returns.

You know, in case you should ever sense its absence.

    The Universe

Partly, because while it's away, Laurel, it misses you even more than you miss it.

Tears of Joy

Would it be enough to know, Laurel (and you can know this through deductive reasoning), that long ago, when the two of us carefully mapped out your pending adventure into the jungles of time and space: the hills and valleys you would traverse; the setbacks and advances you would encounter; the good, the bad, and the ugly, and all of the lives you would touch; when our planning was done and the "big picture" was revealed...

You burst into tears of joy, overwhelmed with its perfection and who you'd become.

Yeah, like a baby -
    The Universe

Yeah, Laurel, I'll never forget it, because I cried too.

The real reason

 The real reason animals don't talk, Laurel, is because they understand so much.

Word,
    The Universe

Verily, Laurel, the more understanding one possesses, the less there is to say, and the more there is to do.

Show me

Show me someone, Laurel, who keeps getting in your way, and I'll show you someone who keeps making excuses.

Tricky, tricky, tricky,
    The Universe

Oh, Laurel, you slay me.

Just give thanks

It's wise never to ask another for what you want, Laurel.

No, don't ask me.

No, not even yourself.

Just give thanks, in advance. As if you already had whatever it is the "old-you" would have asked for.

Oh, and by the way, thanks for loving every fiber of your supernatural self, as much as I do.

Tallyho,
    The Universe

"Old-you," that's funny, Laurel. Here, anyone under 21,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 still gets carded.

Sheeze

 I ask you, Laurel, as humbly as I can, to consider taking the path less traveled, going within, and getting quiet. Being yourself, shining your light, and reaching out to others.

No, no, heavens no! Not what you're thinking!! I ask these things not that they might be an alternative to living high on the hog, in the fast lane, loaded down with embarrassing wealth... but as a means to attaining these things.

Just striving to preserve our options -
    The Universe

Sheeze, Laurel, are you kidding? I pray mightily, on my hands and knees, giving thanks in advance to... myself... that you might sooner live a life with every imaginable option, toys and all.

A peek into the future

How'd you like a little peek into the future, Laurel? Oh, I really shouldn't, but, well, you so rock, I figure this indulgence, just once, will be all right.

You're sitting around a warm and cozy fireplace surrounded by friends and boisterous laughter. Early-morning snow gently falling across the countryside is visible from the enormous, ceiling-high windows beside you. Everyone is sipping hot chocolate, and reminiscing about the fabulous circumstances that have brought you together, brimming with excitement for times ahead. And then you chime in, "If only we'd seen it, we never would have been so hard on ourselves. If only we'd had just the slightest inkling that the challenges, lacks, and issues we faced back then were of our own exacting design, and that they'd soon make possible the whirlwind of events that so swiftly followed, we'd have been, well, as proud then as we are now... and every bit as photogenic."

And then everyone starts clapping, smiling, and taking lots of pictures.

Not a word to anyone,
    The Universe

You're also wearing the most outrageous sparkly tights I've ever seen, Laurel. But then, you always could wear anything.

Thought so.

Ever notice, Laurel, how those who give 100% just to "get by" in life, usually do? How those who are willing to do just about anything to work on their relationships, usually do? And how those who seem to make it their life's mission to add more years to theirs, often succeed?

Thought so.

Then you must wonder, too, why they don't just give 100% to living in abundance, do just about anything to celebrate their relationships, and make it their mission to add more life to their years... huh?

Just another one of life's amazing mysteries, I guess -
    The Universe

Laurel, let's see them surrounded in gold light this year!

Kindness always returns.

Laurel, sometimes, in hindsight, it may seem that your prior kindnesses were for naught, and that in the end, they were too high a price to pay for the pains you've endured.

That is, of course, until you get a little further into the future, when the pendulum has been allowed its full swing, and all the seeds you've sown have begun blooming in more gardens than you ever knew existed.

    The Universe

Laurel, kindness always returns.

Always trust your dreams

 Always trust your dreams, Laurel.

They've chosen you, as much as you've chosen them.

Tallyho,
    The Universe

And it really ticked-off all the other dreams, too, Laurel.

What if?

 Laurel, if you could take a daily pill that would profoundly speed-up the manifestation of all your dreams, would you take it without fail?

I thought so.

What if it was a big, ugly pill that took 5 minutes to dissolve on your tongue, and it tasted like medicine. Would you still do it?

Yes, all of your dreams...

Thought so.

But what if during those 5 minutes each day you couldn't watch TV, or talk with friends, or distract yourself in any way from your chore?

Wow, you must really want a fabulous new, faster, fancier, lighter laptop, and all those other awesome life changes!

OK, what if you could skip the pill bit entirely, but instead you had to set aside 5 minutes a day to visualize, in a dark and quiet room, seeing your life unfold as if all your dreams were coming true, and for good measure you had to say or do something, each day, that implied the same?

No, you can't go back to the pill idea.

Yours,
    The Universe

It works for me, Laurel.

The greatest of all illusions

Perhaps the greatest of all illusions, Laurel, is that life could somehow be better than it already is.

You've got it made -
    The Universe


Precisely, Laurel, your life.

Is'ness

It's not as if one could be bored enough, feel frustrated enough, or complain enough that their life would suddenly turn around. Doesn't work that way.

Whatever anyone "is," Laurel, they become more of. And anyone's is'ness is whatever they say it is.

Happily,
    The Universe

You will help me reach them, won't you, Laurel? By example.

Wink

Laurel, the need to criticize simply belies a longing for recognition, appreciation, and validation. None of which, however, can be obtained through criticism.

I'm sure it's just a phase they're going through.

Wink,
    The Universe

Hmmmmm, Laurel, you're actually glowing today.

You so fly

Laurel, do you know what's really, really, really easy?

Whatever you say is really, really, really easy.

Same goes for the hard stuff.

You so fly,
    The Universe

Laurel, "fly" is good.

You so fly

Laurel, do you know what's really, really, really easy?

Whatever you say is really, really, really easy.

Same goes for the hard stuff.

You so fly,
    The Universe


Laurel, "fly" is good.

Your only "job"

Actually, Laurel, your only "job" in this intergalactic affair called life is thinking. That's it. That's all there is. And should you learn to focus your thinking, to dwell upon what you want instead of what you don't want, and to live as if your thoughts are more real than the prior manifestations that surround you, your life will become easy, floodgates will burst open, and if you want, everyone shall know your name. Somebody must have been loving you, BIG TIME, when this old world began spinning. Your secret admirer - The Universe Actually, I tried to make it even easier, Laurel, but would you believe that some things really are impossible? Believe it.

Something, perhaps, to remember.

 When you feel happy, Laurel, really happy, it somehow seems that you've always been happy and that you'll always be happy.

The same is often true when you feel sad, or lonely, or depressed, or broke, or sick, or scared.

Something, perhaps, to remember.

ILY,
    The Universe

Laurel, don't let appearances keep you from seeing the obvious: your nature is joy, you were built for success, and money, honey, grows on trees.

When you finally get that call

When you finally get that call, meet that person, walk that walk, and live that dream, Laurel, do you think you'll even care that there were a few dark and scary moments in a journey that made them all possible?

Trust me, you won't even remember.

    The Universe

And, Laurel, won't you be glad you never settled for less?

No sane reasons

There are no sane reasons to limit a dream, Laurel.

After all, you don't have to deliver it. I do.

Faithfully,
    The Universe

That's right. Go ahead. Raise the bar. Higher. Higher, still. Laurel, as if it was me who had to jump it.