Simple Living Tip: Careful What You Wish For

This post has been brewing in my mind for a month now. It all started with the surprising death of my laptop right before the beginning of the Simple Living Challenge. I couldn't figure out how I was going to manage a three-week challenge on a tiny 10 inch screen (that is how big our spare machine is) but I decided this was my challenge in real life.I wanted simple living and that was exactly what I got - no chance for too much work, because that tiny laptop was slow as well.

And the challenge began. 

Hour after hour I spent open-hearted and positive about what we were doing until I got the most amazing of laptops, the L520 from Lenovo - the greenest ever ThinkPad. Oh, were we a match made in heaven! Amazing machine - fast, sturdy, reliable - a dream come true for a heavy user like me! What is more, it is made from materials that use up to 30% post-consumer content, meaning it was made out of  office-sized water jugs and used IT equipment, recycled into parts like the LCD cover, palm rests, and top/bottom case. My laptop even saves the equivalent of 10 plastic water bottles. Additionally, it promises to save me up to 40% per year on operating costs and power. Was I glad to show off my environmentally friendly machine to Beth Terry!

And the challenge continued in higher gear.

I was unstoppable. I felt the wind under my wings. You and I were discussing, motivating and inspiring each other, I felt like I was walking the talk and the whole challenge was wrapping up perfectly (did you just noticed the sneaky "perfectly"?).

And then the challenge ended. 

It was a blast. A wonderful love story with a happy ending. Everyone was happy - all the guest posters did their best, I was excited with the new connections being made, I had achieved my goal and was now ready to fly even higher. 

Until the day the challenge ended and I was able to breathe in. That was when my eyes gave up on me. I couldn't and still cannot look at the monitor for longer periods, I cannot wear my glasses, I cannot be without them. It is a long-standing problem that obviously was ignored by my previous ophthalmologist. 

The thing is that sooner or later I am going to be fine, which I definitely am not right now. And I know why. I ignored everything I was talking about in that simple living challenge. I forgot Thoreau, I forgot my first post about dealing with perfectionism. I never slowed down. And what fate tried to do with ruining my laptop, my husband fixed by choosing me the best of laptops I could ever have dreamed of. Then fate waited and landed its lesson heavily on my head. 

I had to slow down and it had to be definite. Now, I am forced to live a slow life, away from the computer. For the past 5 days I've spent not more than 40 minutes a day in front of the screen. And still, the thoughts are running in my head. Still I am worried. Still I have too much to do online. 

This all being said, I am the living proof that you get what you wish for, even if you don't realize that in the beginning. There is something - a force, fate, God that is carefully writing down your wishes and takes care to see them through.

That is why, my friends, I wish you not only to dream big, but to be prepared for the outcome. You WILL get what you want. Just wait patiently.

Hope to see you soon.

In the meantime, do you think that your dreams are coming through?