Hi and welcome back to the Kazoo. I've been back in Canada for a couple weeks, time well spent alchemically shifting old stuff into new possibilities. Simplify is the theme these holidays and that means letting go of a lot of stuff we just don't need to be worrying about while out on the road... It becomes difficult for the wind to blow you where you need to go if you are constantly carrying around a bunch of dead weight; and I mean not only on my back but in my mind most of all. It has been an amazing year for Missy and I, total transformation I would say, with real clarity and purpose to move forward into! And as often occurs in life there are a few tethers still binding us to past choices, out dated realities and former ways of being. All of those times had their day and there is much gratitude for the place and space the experiences of the past now afford the present. There is no now without it all. And yet we are at a crossroads, actually it feels more like a high flying trapeze act... we are doing so well hanging on to this bar just flying through the air. . . and then here comes another bar that we must reach out and grasp. Only thing is that means letting go of everything for a moment, opening up the grip that secures safety, and stability, for this precious leap of faith.
I really like metaphor and yet sometimes you just have metal to work with. In this case about 1000lbs of it or so in the shape of an 81 VW Rabbit. My first car was a VW Bug and my second was a VW Gti and this little beauty in someways filled the void that many men feel long after those original wheels have been melted into re-bar. Buying this little go-cart was pure emotion for sure, not the type of business decision I have the luxury of making quite yet. Well I thought I did last year when I made it and it turns out that it was probably an effective savings account for us. As our little adventure turned from 3 months to 6 months to 13 months into our new lifestyle it became pretty clear that the bunny had to transform into a more exchangeable form of energy ie. cold hard cash!
I was beginning to lose hope that I would find a buyer for her, after months of potential "fun investors" had dropped out of the running and any solid interest disappeared as the weather turned. So I had a little gut check and decided to drop the price for x-mas. Took a little bit of my new sales and marketing knowledge and re-wrote the ad that was gonna make it a merry Christmas! And it worked, I had a buyer lined up to come see it, he was bringing a trailer and everything was in motion. I arrived in Nanaimo with the car ready to say goodbye and instead got a goodbye from this guy as he drove away car-less. I was down but not out! There was one other young kid who had been emailing me his life story complete with at least 10 different VW's his family has or have owned, begging me very apologetically with a lower offer than my x-mas smash deal! I called him up to talk and realized that this kid is in that same energy that I was years ago eying such a car. I knew in that instant that there is more to valuing something than just the $$$$ at the end of a deal. This is a whole experience, including the elements of myself that needed to get some cash, and this young guy who is right now one of the happiest VW owners in Canada, plus a myriad of other little things that make this deal the right deal, not just for me, but for all concerned.
The grand finale!
The next day I'm on the ferry bringing the car over for the great exchange. As we pull up to the ferry dock and the cars are driving off the ferry I go to start the bunny... bluguh blug...uh. "Ummm shit this is not happening" and I waited for a second thinking "I just put in a new battery I've got juice", and then BRAMMM! Whew, she started up and I drove over to the meeting place. (I drove around the parking lot about 5 times to make sure the battery was charged) And I waited for the eager buyer. He got off the bus across the street and was already sold, I think it would have been near impossible to change his mind... Good thing too because as we hopped in for the test drive I turned the key and . . . nothing. "Okay this is a bit embarrassing but let's see what this could be." Without pause he gets up, "Pop the hood, let's have a look!" We decide that it may be the starter and that hey let's just jump start it and get some positive feelings happening here. That went smooth and we arrived back to park on a hill for the next start! I realized that I can't send this kid off on his own with a new car that won't start! So it hit me, I had all these spare parts in the back from my friend Joe's old rabbit... I gave him a call. "Hey Joe, I'm gonna need a little favor here. I'm at the mall with a buyer for my car and it won't start. The good news is I have the part I need right here just no tools. Can you help me?"
"Sure, just come on over."
I asked the kid, "do you have anything else to do?"
"Not a thing." he says with a huge grin.
"Well on to the next thing then." I call out as we hop in the bunny.
Well. . . we actually had to bump start it again, but then triumphantly headed off to Joe's for the great starter exchange.
Five minutes later out on the street in front of Joe's house we had the old starter out and the new one in. Turns out one of the bolts was terribly loose and would have disappeared had we not made the swap when we did. A nice little added blessing...!
Then the key was turned and like new she fired up perfectly.I really like metaphor and yet sometimes you just have metal to work with. In this case about 1000lbs of it or so in the shape of an 81 VW Rabbit. My first car was a VW Bug and my second was a VW Gti and this little beauty in someways filled the void that many men feel long after those original wheels have been melted into re-bar. Buying this little go-cart was pure emotion for sure, not the type of business decision I have the luxury of making quite yet. Well I thought I did last year when I made it and it turns out that it was probably an effective savings account for us. As our little adventure turned from 3 months to 6 months to 13 months into our new lifestyle it became pretty clear that the bunny had to transform into a more exchangeable form of energy ie. cold hard cash!
I was beginning to lose hope that I would find a buyer for her, after months of potential "fun investors" had dropped out of the running and any solid interest disappeared as the weather turned. So I had a little gut check and decided to drop the price for x-mas. Took a little bit of my new sales and marketing knowledge and re-wrote the ad that was gonna make it a merry Christmas! And it worked, I had a buyer lined up to come see it, he was bringing a trailer and everything was in motion. I arrived in Nanaimo with the car ready to say goodbye and instead got a goodbye from this guy as he drove away car-less. I was down but not out! There was one other young kid who had been emailing me his life story complete with at least 10 different VW's his family has or have owned, begging me very apologetically with a lower offer than my x-mas smash deal! I called him up to talk and realized that this kid is in that same energy that I was years ago eying such a car. I knew in that instant that there is more to valuing something than just the $$$$ at the end of a deal. This is a whole experience, including the elements of myself that needed to get some cash, and this young guy who is right now one of the happiest VW owners in Canada, plus a myriad of other little things that make this deal the right deal, not just for me, but for all concerned.
The grand finale!
The next day I'm on the ferry bringing the car over for the great exchange. As we pull up to the ferry dock and the cars are driving off the ferry I go to start the bunny... bluguh blug...uh. "Ummm shit this is not happening" and I waited for a second thinking "I just put in a new battery I've got juice", and then BRAMMM! Whew, she started up and I drove over to the meeting place. (I drove around the parking lot about 5 times to make sure the battery was charged) And I waited for the eager buyer. He got off the bus across the street and was already sold, I think it would have been near impossible to change his mind... Good thing too because as we hopped in for the test drive I turned the key and . . . nothing. "Okay this is a bit embarrassing but let's see what this could be." Without pause he gets up, "Pop the hood, let's have a look!" We decide that it may be the starter and that hey let's just jump start it and get some positive feelings happening here. That went smooth and we arrived back to park on a hill for the next start! I realized that I can't send this kid off on his own with a new car that won't start! So it hit me, I had all these spare parts in the back from my friend Joe's old rabbit... I gave him a call. "Hey Joe, I'm gonna need a little favor here. I'm at the mall with a buyer for my car and it won't start. The good news is I have the part I need right here just no tools. Can you help me?"
"Sure, just come on over."
I asked the kid, "do you have anything else to do?"
"Not a thing." he says with a huge grin.
"Well on to the next thing then." I call out as we hop in the bunny.
Well. . . we actually had to bump start it again, but then triumphantly headed off to Joe's for the great starter exchange.
Five minutes later out on the street in front of Joe's house we had the old starter out and the new one in. Turns out one of the bolts was terribly loose and would have disappeared had we not made the swap when we did. A nice little added blessing...!
Victory!!
I suppose the moral of the story might be this:
It's not the way something ends that defines the experience, it's the starter!
Love you, and have a blessed solstice!
Chief ME
in charge of being myself
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