Good things come in threes

Here she is – our new home starting in 2014!

Sometimes things just fall into place without much effort. Not always, but sometimes.

It might sound cheesy or a little too new-age hippie, but I do believe we can manifest good things in our lives. My brief 30 years of experience on this planet has demonstrated that when we approach the world with kindness, positivity and gratitude, we are blessed with abundance. Granted, our definition of abundance and our expectations play a large role in that. If I expected to be a millionaire by now, I would be sorely disappointed and would not feel at all abundant. Fortunately, millionaire status is not my goal.

I’m not saying that bad things don’t happen to good people. I’ve had my share of bad luck for sure, and I know some very good people who have had some very bad things happen to them. But for myself, I find the negative events to be less memorable and less impactful than the good ones. And when I look at those good people around me who have had some serious bad luck, they come away from those things stronger, and good things inevitably come back around to them. They do not wallow in their misfortune, and their kindness, positivity and gratitude remain intact. That is the strength of the human spirit. 

All of this is to say that good fortune has come our way again. While I’m not surprised, I am very grateful.

When we hatched our 2014 Pan American overland plan, we made a list of things we need to resolve before departing. Among the big items: offloading our real estate in Oregon, and finding the perfect vehicle for our journey. Both of those items have been resolved in the past week. Hooray!

The vehicle is a 1988 Toyota Sunrader 18′ mini-RV. Essentially it’s a solid 4×4 Toyota pickup with a fiberglass RV built onto it. Almost like we took our Bigfoot trailer (which we will now be selling) and jammed it onto the top of our old pickup. Awesome. It has a full-size bed over the cab, a shower/toilet, a 4-burner stove, a refrigerator, and A/C. It is one of only 26 factory 4×4 Sunraders ever built, and one of fewer than 10 that are still on the road in the U.S.

Much like our Bigfoot trailer, these little campers have a cult-like following. So when we saw the ad on the Eugene Craigslist in Oregon, we called right away. Not only did it look in great condition, but the price was lower than we’d expect. We wanted it in a serious way, despite the fact that it was 1,500 miles away.

Fortunately, I have family in the Eugene area, and my mechanically savvy uncle was willing to go look at it for us the next day. We were the first to look at it; the owner was occupied with work, and we pounced on him as soon as he got home. We bought it less than an hour before a 4×4 enthusiast was going to scoop it up and resell it for a quick profit (he found me on the Expedition Portal forum and told me he was next in line). Three more people were scheduled for the next day. Phew!

So now we have an awesome little RV waiting for us in Oregon. Ben will fly up on October 24th to retrieve it and drive it home to New Mexico in 3 epic days of driving. I can sympathize, since I towed the trailer home during 3 epic days of driving just 2 months ago.

So excited. Onward!

PS – Because of the title, you might be wondering: what’s the third good thing? Well, it was a happy event for someone I’m very close to. Good news for loved ones is good news for me. 🙂

Do you find a correlation between how you approach your life and what life brings your way? How do you deal with bad luck?