Tag Archives: outdoor market

 

Yesterday I participated in an early spring outdoor market where I had a tarot reading booth. I prepared all week, making signs, printing take away info sheets and begged, borrowed and …. well just begged and borrowed tables and chairs for the day.

The day before the market, I arrived to set up my tent. It was an unseasonably warm and sunny day, perfect for an outdoor market. But that was the day before the sale.

I had never set up this market tent before. My hubby and I bought it at an auction the year before and never thought to actually open and check it out.

Note to self: Always check out things you buy at an auction before you actually go to use them.

 

The tent was not what the picture on the bag advertised. It was obviously a returned, damaged tent from some store and it was a miracle that I was able to make it work, thanks to 2 amazing ladies who came to my rescue. But we did and so I tootled home to take care of last minute tasks in preparation for the market the next day.

The forecast for market day was rain. But I chose to put on my rose coloured, Polly Anna styled glasses and live in denial as the previous week had been warm and sunny, including a beautiful spring evening, the night before the market. It could not possibly rain as bad as the weather forecasters were predicting.

I woke up the morning of the sale, aching and bloated. The really bad Chinese take out that I brought home and ate the night before may have been the culprit. My eye lids were puffy and I was feeling closer to zombie state than human state.

The sky was grey, but the clouds where high and the air was surprisingly warm. Perhaps we had dodged a weather bullet and the day would be just fine. I was hopeful.

I packed the remainder of my things, including an umbrella, got into my car and drove out of the carport. That is when the first fat drops of rain hit my windshield.

I made it to the sale, set up my booth under light showers and still held out hope that the rain would lighten up to a slight drizzle. But Mother Nature would dash that optimism soon enough.

Within 10 minutes of arriving the torrent of rain started. It pooled in the excess fabric of my crappy tent and created big bulbous pockets of water above my head which required a poke from the tip of my umbrella every few minutes, only to come splashing down around me. My free draw table had to be abandoned, the draw tickets quickly becoming pulp and as the day progressed, the drip, drip, drip of water from some unseen hole in the tent became more than annoying as it hit the back of my neck.

Now I could have groaned and complained. I could have railed at Mother Nature for her poor timing and I could have decided to have a pissy attitude for all the wasted time spent preparing for this day, but I didn’t. Here’s why.

If you want to have your dreams come true, you have to show up for them. It’s really as simple as that. The circumstances that surround you are not always going to go your way but how you act at any given moment is always within your control. It’s all about your attitude.

This is not rocket science. I know what you are thinking, “Well duh! I followed along with this story and all I got for my time is that old lesson?”

But it is a lesson that needs to be exercised on a regular basis. Patience and a positive attitude are emotional muscles that need to be stretched and strengthened constantly. Sometimes, nothing wonderful happens accept a sense of pride that you have your life together and acted with integrity under, not so ideal circumstances. But once in a while, you get rewarded for taking the high road and here is where the magic happens.

I actually didn’t do half bad in my little rain soaked booth. I read for a half dozen folks in the 4 hours I was there but it was the connections I made with these folks that made it all worthwhile.

The universe offers up signs along your life path to point you in the best direction. You need only to look up to notice them. Sometimes, it is no more than a feeling that comes over you to re-enforce that you are indeed on the right path. Sometimes, it is another person who crosses your path with a message or a simple confirmation that yes, you are going the right way.

This was the message I received over and over from these kind souls who braved a rainstorm and ventured out to receive a reading and some insight from me. If I had chosen to show up with a negative attitude, I would not have been in a place where I could offer my best self. I would not have given them what they paid for and deserved. And in return, I would not have been rewarded with potential new clients and an invitation to participate in the next (hopefully dry) market.

Attitude is everything folks. It makes challenges a little easier. It makes life a little sweeter and it keeps you vibrating at your highest level. And once in a while it rewards you with the gift of hope which, if you are wise, exercises another emotional muscle. That one is gratitude.

 

 

 

 

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