For the past year I have been pursuing the possibility of making an old dream come true: move to my homeland, Oregon, where I was born & raised.

Could I really do it after 40 years in Los Angeles? At my age, 69?

“Why not?!” I thought, I’m more free now than I’ve ever been. “Why not” was my first step toward moving to Oregon. I was saying “yes” instead of the usual “no” I told myself for years. Seeing my 70th birthday on the horizon in a year, I realized this was a window in time to pursue my dream to return to Oregon, the land I loved.

As luck would have it, the book “Begin with Yes” came into my life at about the same time. I hadn’t read much of it when I decided to order the 21 day workbook that went with it to help me stay on the path toward Oregon. I’m not a natural dreamer and I tend to find reasons to avoid making big uncomfortable changes, so I hoped this book would help me keep moving forward, especially in the beginning when I might easily sweep this old dream under the carpet again.

It turned out to be the jump start I needed.

Looking back, I realize it was another book of Paul’s I’d ordered (a nightly affirmation book with tall evergreen trees on the back cover), that first touched my heart’s deepest longing to return to Oregon. That night I suddenly knew, this was the nature & beauty I had been seeking, the evergreens of Oregon.

It seems certain people come into my life at the right time. This time it was Paul Boynton and his books. Thanks Paul!

I know when I listen & follow my heart’s deepest longing, amazing things can happen. Despite my fears & uncertainty about this big move to Oregon, things started to flow and fall into place with every little step I took.

I’ve learned when I am true to myself & I do what my heart truly wants me to do, Life, the Universe, G-d, Higher Power, Mother Earth, or whatever you want to call it, can work with me, flow with me and help me make dreams come true. For me, it’s like flowing with the river of life.

It takes effort on my part to change my life, but things flow easier than when I’m swimming upstream trying to control & change everything & everyone around me.

My former marriage taught me this in spades. I learned I can’t control other people, places, and things, but I can choose how I want to live my own life and take steps in that direction. I left my marriage when I was almost 60. Now I was going to move to Oregon when I was almost 70.

Turning my Oregon dream into a reality didn’t happen overnight. Doubts and fears sometimes crept in to try to derail me. Thoughts like ~

• Could I really do this?

“Yes” was always the answer

• Am I too old to make such a big change after 40 years in LA?

“Now is your window in time.”

• But where will I live & when?

“You’ll know.”

When I got overwhelmed with all the details of moving & finding a new home, I often stopped and asked myself, “What’s the next indicated step? What’s the next small step I can take right now?”

Doing just the next little thing, (like a phone call or order boxes from UHaul or wrap up one more breakable item, or take a break & bake a yummy cake or go for a walk…), really helped me move out of the paralysis of fear. I know small steps may sound too simple, but it really works.

I was thinking recently how everything is built by the very small.

The image came to me of tiny drops of water that create creeks that create streams that create big rivers that flow into huge oceans.

As a kid, it rarely snowed where I lived in Oregon, but when it did I was amazed how each tiny snowflake that fell could eventually transform my whole neighborhood into a quiet winter wonderland.

The power of small repetitive actions seems to be a given throughout all of life.

The next time you’re outside, look at a tall tree or a flower and think about how it once began as a small seed and little by little it grew to be what it is today.

Our American society tends to think bigger is better and so we minimize the power of the small things we do everyday. They all add up over time to make something big.

Moving to Oregon seemed huge & overwhelming at first, like climbing a tall mountain, but tiny consistent steps made it all possible, steps that included working together with others, like friends and good professional movers.

I’m truly grateful to everyone who encouraged me and helped me in many ways to actualize my dream to return to Oregon. And I thank you, my readers on this blog who wrote kind words of support when I first began this journey of pursing possibilities. You helped me keep moving forward. (See my blog post of May 7, 2023, entitled “Pursuing Possibilities”)

After a year of planning & preparing & letting go of many things, I found a wonderful place to live in Oregon.

I made the big move in May, a few weeks before my 70th birthday, a dream come true!

I’m writing this from my lovely apartment home in Oregon, surrounded by beautiful nature and many tall evergreen trees. My new home is all I imagined and more.

And it all started with saying

“Yes” to an old dream

and pursuing that possibility

one

small

step

at

a

time.

~ What old dream waits for you to say, “Why not?”