Editor’s Letter: Issue 14, Mike Dooley

Dear Best Selfers,

Weather and traffic — two things we simply have to surrender to. And sometimes when it rains it pours…and you just have to go with the flow (armed with an umbrella or two).

Our cover feature photo shoots are often planned months in advance. We were thrilled when we figured out that we could coordinate with Mike Dooley while he was teaching a weekend workshop at the Omega Institute in the Hudson Valley (our backyard).

I was particularly excited by the timing — as visions of glorious autumn foliage and epic golden light as a backdrop danced in my head. And as luck would have it — an orchestration of colors peaked the week leading up to our scheduled meeting. All was aligned. That, however, wasn’t quite what Mother Nature had in store for us. By the time the morning of our photo shoot arrived, it was grey, cold, blustery and raining — not so cover-friendly and epic as I had planned. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t exactly singing in the raindrops.

I tried to convince myself — it’s fine. It will all work out. It is what it is.

Mensch Alert.

The real lynchpin and thereby success of the day was in the hands of Mike — who graciously and humbly grabbed an umbrella, an extra sweatshirt to warm his Florida blood and was game to play with us in the rain. No airs, no drama, no resistance. It’s in those moments that you observe the true demeanor of people.

And I get the sense that this is how Mike travels through life — game for adventure, willing to try new things, humble and grateful.

Of course, that’s exactly how I had hoped the man behind the delightful Notes From The Universe would be. And he delivered.

The beauty and painstaking reality of creation is often found in the space of total surrender to the process and the elements. As with life, we proceed with intention and a desired outcome and are often met with an entirely different thing. I knew that our photographer, Bill Miles (who also always remains calm in the face of adverse circumstances) would pull it off.

True happiness and success arrives from showing up with our best selves — willing to co-create, willing to release resistance and to dance in the wonder of possibility. Yep, and sometimes that means dancing in the raindrops.

*And special thanks to our friends at the Omega Institute for hosting our photo shoot and interview, for rolling with the punches and for doing what they do each and every day — bring forth holistic healing studies, furthering the conversation for all of us.

~ Kristen

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