Good-Bye, Yellow Brick Road

Good-Bye, Yellow Brick Road

OK, the image below is NOT me on the cellphone. It's my San Francisco neighbor on our mutual "balcony" on the day I was moving out.

Pushed by the promise of a job in L.A. and the fact that my rent on my rent-controlled apartment was jumping up $800, I drove back to San Francisco to close out my apartment and say good-bye.

This wonderful neighbor had hardly spoken to me in over a year due to a misunderstanding but we patched up our friendship months before I decided to escape San Franciso, and ended up sharing "quality time." She came to my rescue and kept this from being a Solo Effort.

Since August '09, I've been persona non grata. No income. No job. No home. Staying with friends in L.A., depending on their kindness as I tried to figure out the next chapter. It boiled down to a single question: "If you have no money left, why would you want to live?"

I found the answer to be "Live from the Heart and the rest will follow. Allow yourself to savor friendship, love, and give what  you can with love and friendship. Life is not a do-it-yourself project" (as Barbara Sher said in her Wishcraft book).

Above are my downstairs neighbors. Mother and daughter. I will miss them. The mother got me in a headlock before I left--pressing her face against mine--and prayed for my safe journey to L.A. and that I would find all that I needed to live well once I got there.

She and her husband gave me their cellphone numbers for "emergencies" and made me promise to call. Her husband came up while I was packing and said, "Everybody here is a better person for having known you."

Worth a million.