I was not planning on having a driveway sale this past weekend and yet by the time Tuesday rolled around, it seemed suddenly like it was exactly the right day to do it. So I went with it, advertising on Facebook and Craigslist, spreading the word to everyone I knew, and loading our dining table (which we’ll also be selling) with precious gems and jewels, artwork, musical instruments, and other magical items we have been collecting since before we met one another almost twenty-five years ago. Of course, there were household and practical items as well. Anyone need a window air conditioner or a massage table or some clothing? We’ll be having another sale in late April.
I looked at it all and it felt to me like I had laid out much of the external representation of my identity. Oh, I kept back a few special crystals and other items, but so many of the things I have been moving around with me for over two decades were sitting there just waiting to leave.
I wandered into town on Wednesday and sourced some pricing stickers. I was not looking for pricing stickers, I was there for groceries, but there they were, in the small-town drugstore right around the corner from the organic grocery store.
And this is how it continued to go, once a need was defined, the answer/solution/physical items appeared easily, often just given to us by others without me even asking.
“Do you want to borrow our folding tables?” my neighbor across the street texted me as she saw us doing a practice setup in the driveway. We only had plastic shelving units. How do you get to be 57 years old and not have even one folding table or folding chair for that matter??? Well, we used to, we let go of them a few moves ago.
The tables proved to be indispensable for the day, the offer of help, even more so. I am not very good at asking for help, often running with an, “I can do it all by myself” attitude. When people used to offer me assistance, my immediate response would be, “No thank you.” So, while I may still struggle with the asking part when it comes to the receiving the help offered part, I am doing better.
“Look what I have,” our other across-the-street neighbor said as he showed us “Garage Sale” signs. He walked to each corner sticking them in the ground for us and brought us paper bags for the shoppers. He also helped me with the pricing of some things.
The night before we’d been invited to an event at the Ojai Valley Museum. We found ourselves there gathering with people in the community we have gotten very close with over the past nine months or so, feeling fed by their love and the delicious food offered there.
“How is this happening,” Jon asked on the way home, “that we’re moving and all of a sudden we have these new friends?”
It does not make sense on the surface of the moment, at all, and yet I know there is some sense to be found in all of this. We’ll know what it is ourselves as time unfolds. There are surprises ahead, of this I am sure, and Jon and I are continuing to sit in the void of the unknown without trying to push anything forward the best we can. My take is that the void is where creation begins. It’s a murky space, often triggering deep anxiety when we find ourselves here.
We got up early on Saturday and brought everything out front. We had put pricing stickers on most of it the day before.
“I feel like I am selling off all my magic,” I said to Jon. It’s not true, you can’t sell your magic, it’s an internal thing, and yet letting go of all of these physical representations of our work and ourselves felt huge.
The day was beautiful, so beautiful I got a bit sunburned, and the moon was full in Virgo. There really could not have been a more auspicious energy astrologically than this one. It was a great day of receiving love and support and hugs and money for our stuff and of seeing our magic go home with others, spreading into the valley and beyond.
I debated selling the four corners/elements wall hangings that have held the corners in six different homes of ours. I was going to take them with us on this move when I got a nudge on Friday to let them go. I highlighted them in a post on Facebook and an Ojai local responded with, “Ohhh those four directions hangings are so tempting me. I’ll be coming but not sure what time! I run a program for young girls where I teach them about the four elements and four directions in the Celtic tradition. Connecting it all to their lives and empowerment in nature. I hope those are still around when I get there!!”
They were still there when she arrived, in plain view on one of the tables and yet, hidden from view, it seemed, to everyone else due to the many people who had already come through. I got emotional at the perfection of it all when I handed them to her, knowing they were going exactly where they were meant to.
Four hours later a young woman came through. “I can’t believe this is still here!” she crowed as she picked up the wooden flute. “I saw the picture of it yesterday and thought for sure it would be gone by now.” She picked it up and began playing it beautifully.
Many people had picked it up and put it back down throughout the day including a friend of ours who was sitting next to me as she was playing it and decided he did not want it. “I think it’s waiting for someone,” I had said to him when he put it back on the table earlier.
She sent Jon a beautiful recording of her playing it which we received as we were walking back from dinner at The Farmer and The Cook that night.
It’s so fulfilling to observe items that have brought us joy move on to do the same for others.
Our walls are almost bare and our shelves and drawers are much less burdened. We are more than two months out from leaving this house and the magic of Saturday’s sale has yet to fully reveal itself. This is the fun of living in the magic, knowing every action taken begins to create and open other moments without having any idea most of the time what those moments will hold.
I am still swinging between sadness, excitement, and anxiety. I stopped by a friend’s house after the market today and her partner made me a latte. I sipped the deliciousness in the warmth of their company and cried after I left their house. I’ll be spontaneously crying on and off for the next few months. Right now I am going to blame the Virgo full moon.
How are you?? Please drop me a comment below and let me know.
P.S. I am remiss when it comes to my city council reporting, and for this, I apologize. I am headed to the special meeting tonight, where once again a ceasefire resolution will come up for a vote. I’ll be writing about this one afterward and include details from the prior meeting as well.
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P.P.S. Our Channeling Class live on Zoom starts this Saturday. Due to our move, I am not sure when we’ll be able to teach this one again. If you’ve been thinking about doing it, there is still some room. Class description and registration link here
Beautiful magic and letting go. When I moved to Canada from a place I had lived for 18 years, it was all the little goodbyes that got to me. The ones I kept inside, like I won't see the women at the thrift store anymore, or the people in the Post Office, or the check out people at the grocery store. All the people that we don't really know but interact with on a regular basis - all those relationships are significant parts of our circles and my heart was breaking and opening in so many ways. The BIG goodbbyes and the small ones. Wishing you and Jon many blessings in this transitional time.
HI Nora! this was so great for me to read right now (and btw venus was square jupiter on saturday as well as the full moon - lots of lovely expanded feelings!) My partner and I are having home uncertainty issues as well, and the reminder to acknowledge that we are in the void and find, if not comfort there, then at least some ease with the process, is comforting!