Magical Mind

I went with a friend to Vegas to surprise her dad for his 70th birthday this past weekend.  Celebrate good times we did.  Drinking, gambling and sunshine by the pool?  Ummm, yes please all the time.  For a good cause?  Even better.  I was one happy tambourine last weekend.  Vegas is where I am my best self.  There’s something about it.  It’s like I reach the city limits and become this sublime, happy go lucky, free falling, why not?, no worries, fairy-mermaid of a creature.  There’s a magic to that place that speaks to me and makes me feel alive in a way no other town can.  I found myself lying poolside trying to figure out how I could bottle up that feeling and take it with me forever.  Seriously, though, what is stopping me from being that version of myself all the time?

Little did I know every frat house in Southern California would be in Vegas too.  With their coolers (so many coolers) and their popped collars and their overall lack of skill in blackjack.  Honest to god I felt like I had gotten lost in an all boys wizard school casino.  At one point I turned to the kid next to me and was like, “How old are you?” and he goes, “However old you want me to be.”  (ugh, eyeroll) “Where were you during 9/11?”  (hesitance, too much thinking) . “Exactly.”  I’m not proud that’s a point of reference for me, but it was the only thing I could think of at the time.  It was either that or, “Where are your parents?”  I felt like Jon Lovitz in A League of Their Own when he’s walking through the farm surrounded by chickens, “Get these wild animals away from me!”  It’s when I’m surrounded by kids that look like little babes drinking and chain smoking, I realize that I’m the old lady in this scenario.  When did that happen?

So during the birthday dinner, I’m sitting at the table and for whatever reason put my hands on the back of my legs just above my knees.  On the left side, there is a giant bulge and I’m like, what the hell is this?  So I start kneading it and finally realize what it is and just start saying out loud, “Oh my god.  Oh my god.  Oh my god.”  Then I burst out into laughter and everyone else at the table is obviously looking at me like the crazy lady I am.  Your lovely writer and friend managed to put her pants on with a pair of underwear stuck inside of them.  Palm to face.   So then I was asked to explain how this happened which led to a very interesting conversation about the process of taking your pants off.  Perfect topic of conversation to have with your friend’s parents and their friends you are just meeting for the first time.  Real talk though, who takes off their pants and then their roos?  Why not just take them both off at the same time?  It’s very similar to the sock-shoe order.  My sister and I believe if you sock, shoe, sock, shoe, you’re a serial killer.  Just saying.

It’s all a state of mind.  The power of the mind is incredibly persuasive.  If you haven’t watched The Inventor or Free Solo yet, do it now.  Two VERY different documentaries but both very telling of what is possible when you put your mind to something and believe it to be true.  Now, when I say very different, one was a lunatic who convinced the wealthiest people in the world she could change the world of medicine without so much as a speck of proof and the other was a man who told himself he would be the first (and probably the only) person to free climb El Capitan in Yosemite, his failure to do so most likely resulting in death.  My point being you can use your mind for good or you can use your mind for evil.  Your greatest victor and your worst enemy.  Where fear, doubt and negativity reside.  It’s also where bravery, hope and optimism dwell.  Two wolves within us and it’s up to us to decide which one to feed.  It’s the battle of a lifetime.

And here’s what’s so crazy about the power of belief.  If you don’t believe it’s going to happen, why would it?  Nobody and nothing in this universe owes you anything.  No one ever attempts anything without believing it can’t be done.  Belief is the cornerstone of creation and the gateway to success.  Give yourself some credit.  Give your abilities and your dreams and your imagination the chance to fly.  Steer the ship.  Adjust the sails.  Mark the map.  Set your sights to the horizon.  Believe that you can, and you will.  Be the captain.  Your mind is a magical powerhouse.  It will take you anywhere you want to go.  It’s how Dorothy got home, afterall.