Often I affirm; “I am always in the right place at the right time and everything works out always more than fine.”

Until you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and nothing, absolutely nothing, is working out more than fine.

And then; in order to be in the right place at the right time where everything works out more than fine – you need to leave the wrong place.

Sounds simple. And it is; if you allow it.

But humans can be stubborn beings and when life is telling us to please go now, we hear ourselves say;

“I’m okay”

“I’m fine, it’s all fine”

“It will be all right”

“I can do this”

“I can make it work”

“I’ll just stay till I find something else, someone else”

Too funny, I know – because it’s all bullshit!

We know this, I know this.

But…

In spite of Barbra Streisand singing, “I Stayed Too Long At The Fair” accompanied by the whimsical wisdom of Dr. Seuss telling the character Marvin K. Mooney to go and go now, I remain at the fair, I do not go.

You see I took this part time gig, to supplement my income while making my way back from the last two years of… well you know.

I felt it would be okay. I could do this and I was right, I could, but it was not me and it was not a place to thrive or enjoy. It was a place of overwork and underpaid etc. etc.

Yet I stayed. Just for now, I told myself. But I also heard myself say, to myself, “This is one of the worst gigs ever.” I joked it was like a modern day sweat shop, but I wasn’t laughing.

In short, I was not in the right place and that meant that nothing was going to work out fine.

No one to blame or criticize. 

My choice.

This is how it works when you affirm right place right time, when your not there, you’ll recognize it quickly and leave. But when you choose to remain in the wrong place – things go terribly wrong. It gets nasty, real, real nasty, attempting to get your attention that you are messing up and need to realize the fair has closed and even Marvin K. Mooney has moved on.

I finally packed myself up and left, but it wasn’t graceful. First I had to be bullied, discredited and the work load became physically gruelling. I went from trying to  convince myself, I was fine, to, “Just keep breathing, and don’t you dare have a heart attack!”

In my defence I come from the generation of the “hard work ethic.” You’re never tired, you never stay home sick, you take what they dish out and you come back for more with a smile. You never lick your wounds in public and when they tell you it wasn’t enough, you believe them.

No one ever told you that if things are hurtful, abusive, and just plain absurd that perhaps you are in the wrong place. That when you don’t listen to your heart it just gets worse to push you out.

I may have come from this time when listening to others was more important than hearing yourself, but I’ve lived long enough to tell you it just isn’t how it’s meant to be.

I tripped up, I decided to take something for the time being  and then go and yet I took it and didn’t go.  

Go to the fair, ride the ferris wheel, treat yourself to some cotton candy and when you hear, “Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now,” just nod yes, and go, go, go.

 

 

I am always in the right place at the right time

And everything works out always more than fine.

Abraham Hicks

 

 

I’ve Stayed Too Long At The Fair” written by Billy Barnes, recorded by Barbra Streisand, 1963 “The Barbra Streisand Album”

“Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now” by; Dr. Seuss

“I’m always in the right place at the right time…” Abraham Hicks

Photos: Fair, Brett Sayles, Pexels.  In-n-Out sign, Carter Saunders, Unsplash