Late this summer a bird showed up in the tree outside of my friend Nancy’s house (she lives right next-door to me). Being a ‘birder’ Nancy recognized that this was an African bird called a Zebra Finch. She put out birdseed and created a home for the bird in the tree. Nearly everyday I’d listen for the finches’ sweet song and when I couldn’t hear it I’d hope he was still alright.

As the weather started getting cooler, Nancy hung a birdcage in the tree with the intention of catching the finch because African birds can’t survive the cold. One Friday she called me (right before the first frost) wondering what to do about the bird.

My solution was (and is, to many things) “post him on Craigslist” (i.e. bird in tree needs home). She thought O.K. but how are we going to catch the bird in the first place? In the next couple hours a woman called whose pet bird had recently died; she wanted to come right over after work and take him home. Great! But how do you catch a bird?

Lo and behold, when Nancy returned from work that day and stepped outside – the bird was sitting IN THE CAGE! What a symphony of events! Everything came together.

To me this is an anecdote for ‘setting up circumstances’ in our lives for what we want. We often don’t know ‘how’ something is going to come about, but if we focus on our intentions and desires and take our next steps, we can create the space and the energy for things to come together. The most beautiful part about this is that we don’t have to know how it’s all going to take place, how it’ll all come together. We just do our part in the equation and then let go.

Fall is a time of letting go. So, it’s a perfect time of letting go of the ‘how’ in our lives and focusing instead on ‘what’ we want. So take time to jot down what you want. Then, ask yourself what ‘how’ in your life can you toss out? In doing this you just may cast the net for the ‘what’ to show up in your life.