By Jeff Baird, Sunrise Reiki Colorado
My first real job was when I cut a neighbor’s lawn and got paid for it. When I cut lawns as a kid, I would save the money for our yearly August vacation when we were scheduled to leave the Midwest and go to The Rockies, Florida or some other great place that my parents had planned for us. I always had plenty of walking around money in August. But, every year, it went so fast!
During that first cut of a neighbor’s lawn, I somehow took out an entire small spruce tree. Cut it to the ground. Gone. “Thanks for coming over to cut my lawn Jeff. Really appreciate it.” Please don’t ask me how it happened. I don’t remember the details except that I only cut his lawn one time. I ended up cutting many other neighbor’s lawns after that happened, and never cut down a tree by accident again. Once was more than enough.
Tonight, I had a visual recollection of that moment, laughed out loud to myself and started writing about it. I think I was 10 years old when it happened. I’ve cut a lot of lawns since then, and always pay very close attention to the trees and everything else. I live in the mountains now, and it’s a rough land that is constantly changing. The only constant is change, after all. This land moves.
In the last three years, I’ve walked away from five jobs to do the work that I am doing now. I took a six figure pay cut, then a bigger one, and then learned to finally and fully trust God and his massive army of angelic helpers. I couldn’t do it without their help. “The Team” never leaves my side. Nothing else compares to the healing work that we are involved with these days. It’s the most important work I’ve ever done.
Now, I get to do this work full time. It took a while to get here, but the whole experience taught me patience at a much higher level. I am so grateful in knowing that I am doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. What an incredible feeling that is when you come face-to-face with your true self, nod and keep moving forward. Excelsior! Do the work that you were put here to do. Time to get busy. Everyone is here for a reason, and wasting time is a crime.
This is the only work I have ever done that comes so naturally, and flows like nothing I have ever experienced before. Yes, I was a natural salesman, achieved a lot of success, and had a lot of fun doing it. I definitely had some highlights along with some not so high moments too. One time I sold a golf company on the idea of scenting their pro shops with the scent of fresh cut grass. I always loved creative selling, as I established long term, mutually beneficial relationships with people. It was fun. But, I guess, in summary, my biggest sale doesn’t compare to the work I am doing today. That’s quite a statement for me to utter, but It’s a true statement.
Being a part of so many transformations is so humbling, and I am always amazed at some of the things I hear after a client has received a Reiki treatment. The newness will never wear off for me. My happiest customers make me happy at the soul level.
Thank you for reading this, and being a big part of it all. Nothing makes me happier than when someone reads my stuff. When I was younger, I used to dream about living in the mountains of Colorado and being a writer. But, even then, I wasn’t dreaming big enough. I didn’t know what I didn’t know yet. It’s more than I ever imagined, just to live here.
Life is as big as we want to make it. We pick our spots. We make our moves. We believe in ourselves, trust our all knowing gut and give it the best shot we have. There is a lot of work to be done, and there is no better time than now to make that happen.
Putting our dreams off makes no sense whatsoever. Follow your dreams, and then live them. Enjoy the ride. Life itself can be so healing, when we attempt to live it to the fullest.
I watched John Wayne shout, “We’re burning daylight” on the big screen when I was a kid. I always loved Jack London too, who wrote, “Burning Daylight.” That expression has been a part of our family’s vernacular for years, and will continue to be. This moment will be gone before you know it. Make the most of it. May you never burn daylight as you shine like the sun.