One of my favorite playground activities as a kid was playing on “the merry-go-round”:  that round metal contraption with bars that you used to both push it faster and faster and hang on for dear life.  Depending on my mood, I would either be found with limbs wrapped around the bars, smile on my face, enjoying the wind in my hair and the feeling of escape, or I’d be pushing it harder and harder until my little sister was totally freaked out.  Ah, memories….

I remember vividly how we begged my parents to get our own merry-go-round for our backyard and how absolutely dumbstruck we were when they actually bought one!  Of course, true to my family’s nature, you couldn’t buy the name brand.  My mother sewed all our clothing and we grew up brainwashed to think that clothes with labels were just short of evil.  When skateboarding became the craze and “Surf City” was the giant hill at the bottom of our street, we begged for our own equipment.  Instead of the model like every other kids, we got a red “Little Dink”.  It was embarrassing to even ride it.

So you can imagine our disappointment when my dad put together our new merry-go-round and we found out that instead of a flat surface you could roll around on and contort your body around the poles to try daring moves, we had something more akin to a “real” merry-go-round:  actual seats that all faced in one direction.  When I sat on them and was pushed, it made me nauseous.  I don’t remember going on it more than once.

I know now that my parents did their very best to give us what they could with their limited means.  I also have learned that it is important to be specific when asking for something!  I admit there have been times when I was one of those women who felt that if a guy really loved me, he would know what I wanted.  That probably works if you’re dating a psychic but not most men.  And the same thing when asking for things in your life in general.  Once I made my list of intentions and said “To be on Oprah”.  Four months later as I sat in the audience of The Oprah Show I realized that I should have indicated “To be a guest on Oprah, on the stage with her”.  I really had gotten what I asked for.

Some days when I find myself bemoaning my surroundings, my stuff, my lot in life, I have to stop and realize that perhaps I have really gotten what I’ve asked for.  If I’m focused on the negative, that’s what I’ll attract.  If I focus on abundance, that too is what I’ll attract.  I’m looking for a life that lets me feel the wind in my air, not make me feel nauseous.  I think its time to start revising my intentions list!