Lara Nieberding

“The power or powerlessness of your lists depends on the level of awareness from which you write it.” ~Martha Beck (February, 2008 O Magazine)

When I was 13 years old I liked creating designs on graph paper.  One day I drew a house.  I carefully laid out each room.  To this day I remember the inner narration in my head as I contemplated the reason a room should be placed in the location I assigned it.  Flash forward 23 years.  I live in the house I drew on graph paper.

I do not know how it happened.  I gave the original drawing away.  I did not purchase a lot, hire an architect or a contractor.  The house I live in was built and lived in by someone else.  When I bought this house, I did not even think about the drawing.

I did not make the connection until I read Martha Beck’s article “Go tell Alice.”  The drawing on graph paper was created from somewhere deep within myself.  I never once thought “I HAVE to live in this house.”  It never occurred to me actually finding a house like it could be a reality.  It was not a grand “AH-HA” moment when I connected the drawing to the house I live in.  It was a very subtle realization.  The power of lists.