101 Uses for a Vintage LIMO #3: TO UPLIFT YOUR SPIRITS

One thing I have noticed in this world is that there are a lot of ways we can be made to feel very "small" - perhaps it is when the bank treats us like we are a number, perhaps it is when someone says something cruel to us, or perhaps it is when we just can't earn enough to support our family or provide them with the things we think they need.

In a spiritual sense, feeling small can be a good thing. One can feel the awe of theb universe when they look at the stars and one can feel their one-ness with the earth when they look at the ocean. At such moments we seem to vanish into the wonder of what is the world and everything in it.

But the smallness I am talking about is not that good small-ness. It is that feeling that we don't deserve things, that we are not worthy, or that we are unimportant.

And it may seem shallow, but doesn't riding in a LIMO take that feeling away - if just for a moment?

But in reality, these things that seem shallow really have a lot more depth than we realize. Having children has made me realize that often it is the small things in life that make us happy and not the big things. It is a kiss goodnight and a chapter read before bedtime that makes a child smile for years. It is an ice cream cone and a little hand-knit unicorn that they will treasure memories of until they are old. It is the small things that uplift us.

And I am sure we have all had the experience of having a "bad day" or a "bad week" or even a "bad year" and then one LITTLE thing happens and our life is changed for the better. It is a mystery how this works, but it seems to be an ongoing theme in many people's lives. You often hear people tell the story: "I was so depressed and then this person said something to me and I just woke up out of my depression and started a new life"....or..."I felt I had nothing and then I saw this scene one day and I realized how much I had". These are gifts - little epiphanies that help us move on a reach farther in life.

I want to give those little moments to people as gifts. My plan is to offer the limo once a week (I better start slow because I tend to over-give of my time otherwise and end up overwhelmed) to someone who needs to be uplifted in some way. I want them to have a half hour or an hour to experience what it feels like to be important, respected and special so that they walk away from the experience thinking "I want to feel like this all the time and I deserve to feel like this all the time." I want to pick them up in the limo, open the door for them in my limo drivers outfit (Ok, so it is not only kids who like to play dress-up), and take them to their favorite place in Des Moines. Perhaps they want to take their children out to lunch and pick them up at school. Perhaps they want to take some friends out, perhaps they just want to go to have some tea at a nice cafe. Everything would be my treat. I want this person to feel like they are the most important person in the world - and they are.

We all are. I just don't think people take enough time to tell each other how much they mean to each other. People don't take enough time to see how important they are and sometimes even if they look they don't see it. Everyone has a gift and a reason and a beauty about them and the world would be a much happier place if we all realized that about ourselves.

I realized how important this inner feeling was when I sought help from a friend in running my business ten years ago. "I just can't seem to make any money" I said to her. "I work 24 hours a day and I barely break even". Knowing me very well, she said to me, "Your problem is that you don't think you deserve to be paid. Someone in your life has made you feel unworthy and now you don't think you deserve even to ask for the things that are rightfully yours. If you went to see a naturopath or healer wouldn't you want to pay them?"

"Well...yes"
"Then why don't you feel comfortable charging people for your services?"

That simple statement changed my life - personal and business life. I realized that I was "shorting" myself in a lot of areas of my life because I didn't feel I deserved things. As a mother I didn't think I deserved to take any time for myself. As a wife, I felt I should be serving my husband all the time and he should never have to serve me, as a businesswoman I felt it was hard to ask people for money.

Many people can relate to this, I am sure. How about women who get paid less than men because they are scared to ask for what they are worth? How about the mom who never takes a minute for herself because she thinks she has to be serving her children 24 hours a day? Or the caregiver who is so busy helping an ill person that they forget they are also a person...and the list can go on and on for pages...

Because of my own experiences in life I feel especially close to the experience of abused women and would like to offer them A LOT of limo rides. I know what it feels like to be told you are unimportant and stupid for years on end. Another soft place in my heart goes out to children who are ill or who are feeling down in some way. People at school can be cruel to kids, parents can even be cruel (even the best intentioned ones) and if a child has an illness or financial challenges this often compounds any pain they may be feeling. Children are not given much of a voice in this world sometimes and I would like to recognize that children ARE people way before we treat them like people. I feel so strongly about this because I remember my experience as a child very vividly. I did not have a tragic childhood but I do remember being teased at school, and being treated like I was a fence post by most adults - very few people were able to see my wisdom and abilities at a young age but they were there. I wonder how many children today are also being ignored.


I am going to be out of town most of this week so I will make some calls next week and start my "dream limo service" then. I look forward to sharing an uplifting experuience with as many people as possible...speaking of which...riding in a LIMO is a VERY uplifting experience I have realized...