Why I’m the luckiest person on the planet, Episode 23

“Goodness is the truth. Our lives are eternal, perfect, complete, harmonious and always in balance. Dwell on that truth, that unchangeable presence.”—Michele Longo-O’Donnell

I get interviewed a lot. One of the common questions is “What kind of goals do you set for yourself?” And sometimes my interviewers scratch their head with my answer. It usually goes something like this: “I don’t. Rather, I trust the universe so much that I let it set the agenda. It’s so much wiser and sees so many more possibilities than I ever could.”

Last week’s trip to Italy is the perfect example. I hadn’t set the intention to return to Italy. I love Italy. Who doesn’t, right? But I hadn’t consciously put “trip to Italy” on a vision board or made that intention.

Nonetheless, I got invited on an all-expense-paid trip to Italy to meet Giovanni Rana and get to know his family, his company, his pasta that, just writing the word, makes me drool. You might have seen the picture on Facebook of me doing the Wonder Woman pose at Castelvecchio.

Not only that, but I got to dine at a 500-year-old lakeside estate that also hosted Winston Churchill and Princess Di. I visited a wine cellar that had a bottle of cognac from 1840. I got to be a food stylist, meet Romeo (er, rather the actor who played him in the interactive play we saw at the Capulet’s home), stay in a five-star hotel and drink all the cappuccinos and wine I desired.

Oh yes, and Federico Fellini’s long-time assistant, who evidently follows my blog, noticed I was in Italy and invited me to Rome to have a cappuccino. Sadly, I didn’t have time, but you can bet I’ll take her up on the offer next time the universe sends me to Italy.

But the best part is I got to witness a very successful business that practices what I preach. Pour your heart into what you love. Follow the thing that makes you feel alive. Give everything you can to everybody you can.

I’ll be writing about Giovanni Rana in the next few weeks, writing a travel story about my exquisite visit to the medieval cobbletoned streets of Verona. But, since you guys are part of MY heart, I thought I’d start here on the blog by not-so-subtly mentioning that the most important thing anyone could ever do to improve their life is to get it deep down in their bones that they are so incredibly loved so by the universe. And to know and trust that it constantly tries to send blessings just like this. All they must do is give up their grievances and move towards their joy.

I’ll close now with this Italian toast. Cin Cin. Which means “all good things to you.”

Ciao, bella, my amazingly awesome friends.

Pam Grout is the author of 18 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the recently released, Thank and Grow Rich: a 30-day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy.