Well, this weekend I made the 15 hour trip from Denver to Phoenix to take the cats and my car down. I fly back in a few days to collect my belongings in a truck for a leisurely 3 day drive to Arizona to visit the sites, take lots of pictures, and reflect on my old life, and new adventure.

The first 4 hours of the drive were noisy, as the cats loudly declared their unhappiness at being stuffed into separate carriers and sequestered in a hot car. I did have the windows tinted before making the trip, naturally, and even gave them each a dose of kitty tranquilizers before starting the adventure. The vet told me that when their inner eyelids partially close, I’ll know they are “relaxed.” “They’ll feel like you do after having a big turkey dinner,” he explained.

Now for those of you who don’t know my little bundles of fur, Michelle is a 15 year old skittish Russian blue with a sweet heart. Scooter is a 16 lb 15 yr old male who’s sole purpose in life is to kiss and cuddle with as many people as he can (kinda like an Italian!). Megan, the baby, is a 3-year old angel. Being a calico, she is especially vocal.

The girls did alright on the trip, but Scooter – my sweet, cuddly Garfield cat, metomorphed into a vicious psycho cat from Hades. In 15 years, and several moves that included an overseas jaunt, this big ole’ lover suddenly turned into a spitting, hissing, scrappy drugged up psycho demon with glowing red eyes. (Ok, his eyes didn’t glow, but they certainly looked weird with that inner eyelid half shut – ewe!). I’ve NEVER gotten that way after a turkey dinner… except when they make me do the dishes.

It wasn’t until the “kitty downer” wore off that my sweet boy reappeared to kiss my nose and cuddle with me in the hotel we stopped at after 12 hours of driving. This complete change in personality gave me food for thought (hey, it was a long trip!). Was the sweet cat his true nature, or did the drugs bring out his true secret character, the vicious hell-kitty? I did not give him sedative the 2nd day just to gauge his reaction. He reverted to his “normal” sweet self the rest of the trip. While I have my darling Scooter back now, I will likely be cautious for a while when he asks for a tummy rub… hey you never know…:-).

Ok, enough of the drugged cats… now onto the important stuff. As I started my drive, I passed a billboard with a saying that hit home for this adventure. Now grant it, since this decision to move began 6 weeks, I’ve liquidated almost 70% of my belongings, having had to sort through everything. This gave me plenty of opportunity for reflection and introspection as I evaluated the pieces of my life. I decided that a full housecleaning both literally and figuratively was in order at this point in my life.

The billboard read simply: “Plant Yourself in Richer Soil.”
I have no recollection as to the purpose of the message, but it certainly hit home for me metaphorically. I am moving to Phoenix to plant myself in richer soil. Isn’t that something we all could do from time to time? We attend events where we’re surrounded by intelligent, stimulating people and new ideas, meet new and exciting colleagues, entrepreneuers, move… plant yourself in richer soil.

To pass the time I listened to audio books the entire way down. I discovered that the sound of a male voice speaking for hours is quite calming for the cats! And, I now have the most enlightened and multilingual cats on the planet, having learned some Italian phrases, and listened to two wonderful books! My cats now know how to ask for directions to the post office should they ever get lost in Italy.

I am undergoing a transformation with this move. The beauty of moving to a place where you know nobody is that you can basically reinvent yourself! You can create new habits in your new environment, and be anyone you have wanted to become, because no one knows who you are anyway! That said, I listened to the Celestine Prophecy, and the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People… twice. Steven Covey is amazing. I highly recommend this book to read at least once a year. You get something new from it every time!

(Hey, I have to drive my belongings down next weekend so I need more audiobooks! If you have any book recommendations, please email me or post them here!!) barbara@wealthpromotion.com

I want to share one thought with you that I heard on Covey’s audio book. It’s a quote from T.S. Elliott.
“We must not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to KNOW that place for the very first time.”

This saying can apply to business, relationships, and our internal lives. I see this as the ultimate in self-exploration; rediscovering ourselves over and over and learning each time we do it, the person who we’ve become through the process.

And no, I haven’t taken any of the kitty drugs. 😉

Hugs,
Barbara

p.s. I’ve finished my Tuscan kitchen! See it here! www.rainbowproperty.net/AZhome.htm

p.p.s. I’m considering producing the “Wild Web Workshop” and a “Real Estate Investing Summit” here in Phoenix. Email me with your input! Barbara@wealthpromotion.com