Noah's Ark

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A few days after I graduated from UC Berkeley back in the late 90s, there was a freak rain storm and lots of flooding around the university. I was renting a basement apartment in a family home and awoke to sounds of trickling water and a trash can floating by my bed. No JOKE : it was a real life flood. Somehow, I leapt to my feet without being electrocuted (my space heater was going full blast on the other side of the room) and tried to make sense of what was happening in that moment. It was the middle of the night.

The next few days were a blur; purging a bunch of items that I lost for good, working with my landlords to clear out the water and steam clean the rugs and upholstery. I remember calling my Mom, sobbing in frustration about losing so many seemingly important things.

She talked to me about the story of Noah’s Ark in the bible, and how the worldly things that no longer served him and his people were washed away. It was a fresh start after the flood : new life, a new beginning, rainbows and a dove carrying an olive branch.

This week, I was reminded of the fresh start we need sometimes. Somehow, maybe from a recent trip to Taiwan, my bedroom became home to some fun bed bugs. I was getting bites every day, not knowing what was happening to me, but realizing inevitably, it was time to PURGE again.

I am a girl who loves a fresh start and clean slate. Out with the old? Okay. And as difficult as today was, cleaning and disinfecting and purging and buying new things, I had to remind myself of the spiritual significance in all of this : it is time to part with the old, to make way for the new.

It was a stressful week in general; a medical scare, Arizona’s aide being a no show one day at school, the biggest meeting of my career and being nervous about that AND, finally, the pesky little bugs.

But here I am, grateful for a new dawn and new day. I know that I have called in a life for myself that will continue to propel me forward. Sometimes I wonder about the journey, but I do know that I am connected to my greater purpose on this earth and I will follow this lead until the end of my days.

This week, I was stressed out beyond belief. Today, I am grateful.

Onward!