Some years ago, I received a notice that my neighborhood was going to mandatory curbside mailboxes. The notice said that if I had it installed then, there would be no charge; if I waited I would have to pay for the installation. I wasn’t about to spend money to pay for something that I didn’t want in the first place, so I went for the free installation.
I wasn’t happy about this change. Because of the abundant foliage on my property, I was not able to see when the postal carrier put the little red flag down, so I didn’t know when my mail had arrived. If it were raining, it was a hassle to get the mail. I felt like a victim because I didn’t WANT the mailbox there.
In visiting with my postal carrier, I found out that in fact it was NOT mandatory to have curbside mail delivery, but that now that the curbside mailbox had been installed, I was on a post office list of those with curbside mail delivery. I had been lied to and I was angry! I was tempted to have my handyman, Carlos, come after dark with his truck, wrap a chain around it and pull the mailbox, post, concrete and all out of the ground. Carlos was reluctant to go along with my game plan. I put a tremendous amount of energy around wanting that mailbox gone.
One morning I noticed that the mailbox was lying on the ground. Apparently, some bored or ill-directed teenagers had taken baseball bats to some mailboxes in the neighborhood. While my property is always safe because of the thoughts that I hold, the mailbox was definitely not in that force field of protection, and it got hit. I was able to place the mailbox back on the post and, while not secure, it held on unless there was a high wind.
May of 2000, a tornado traveled a mile north of my home and then turned and traveled a mile east of my home. The winds were horrendous. The sound was unforgettable. I sat in meditation, and was assured that I was safe.
The next morning I went outside to assess damage. Everything was fine except that the mailbox was gone. I walked the yard. No mailbox. I walked up and down the street. No mailbox. I saw a postal carrier and described my situation. The postal carried assured me that they don’t have a list of those designated to have curbside mail delivery. That list stays at the post office. I told her that I still had my old mailbox by my front door. She assured me that it was just fine to use it.
I stood there with my jaw dropped, thinking about what a huge amount of energy I had put on wanting that mailbox off my property, the tons of energy I had expended being angry that I had let the situation occur, even being willing to considering resorting to involve dear Carlos in a clandestine ruse to solve my problem. I stood there astonished that the solution was really so simple.
I guess that a carload of teenagers with a baseball bat, followed by a tornado, was one way to get what I wanted! We don’t know “how” our desires will come to fruition. We just need to keep focused on “what” we want and know that the changes will come. Some seeds take longer to sprout than others. Be patient.
After the great news from the postal carrier, Carlos got the chainsaw and cut the post to the ground. It was a happy day.
