I'm going to share a story about how I handled a handle. It started months ago. We were having trouble with the handle on the back of our car. It's for the liftgate on our hatchback, so it’s a pretty important handle for any job where you need to put something into the back of the car. It had partly broken, was half attached and felt very fragile. Every time I had to pull that handle, I wondered if it would snap off in my hand. 

After dealing with it a few times, we took the car to the garage to find out what could be done to fix the problem. We were told that it could only be replaced, it couldn't be fixed. A young guy in the service department told me that he could order the part, then have it painted and put on the car. What we would have to do is just have some patience while they got the part. I said "Fine, go ahead" and we waited, and we waited. After a while my husband, David, called and asked what was going on. He was told that they couldn't find a part, so he asked "What about ordering or finding a used part?" because our car isn't new. It is seven years old, an older little hybrid car that we're fond of with low mileage. There's no reason to rush for a new car when this is the only problem. The same man said "Well, I'll look around and see what I can find." Then we never heard him, again.  

Several more months went on. In the meantime, here we were, struggling with this handle, barely hanging on. Every time I would go to put groceries in the car, I was gently lifting it and thinking "How much longer do we have to put up with this?" Finally, my patience was done and I made a phone call to the dealership, where we bought the car, where they were looking for the part. I talked to the same man and asked him "Why is this taking so long? Can't you find us a used part?" His response was "Well, nowadays they don't sell just the part. Nowadays we'd have to buy the whole door and I'm still looking." He said "Let me have another look and I'll get back to you, I'm going to check on it again." 

I hung up, feeling a little discouraged and thought, OK, we'll see what he finds. Soon after, I started going into worrying thoughts "Oh, geez, if this thing snaps off, we're going to have this hole on the back of our car. It's a nice little car. It's going to look like crap, it's going to be a pain to open the back, water is going to go in there, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." My mind was running with it.  

Then I suddenly stopped myself and realized. Wow! Am I part of the problem Are my thoughts part of the problem? All my old garbage - not trusting in people to follow through or trusting there could be a solution, trying to do things on my own... All these years, old garbage thoughts were sitting in my databank and now feeding this problem? I stopped myself and paused, saying "OK, cancel all that out! I am going to choose to see this part coming in quickly and easily. The solution is coming, it's going to be fine." And I let it go.  

Well, within an hour, that same man in the service department called back. He left a message to call him because I wasn't available at that moment. When I saw the message, my first thought started to be "Oh, he's got bad news, blah, blah, blah" and I stopped myself again, choosing "No, no, no, don't do that. We're going to have a quick and easy solution."  

I called him back and he was happy to say to me "I found a part for you, and I can have it painted and ready to go on your car in a couple of days." 

I was thrilled to hear that the solution had been found and how quickly it appeared! I was so grateful and continue having gratitude whenever I reach for that handle. The new one is a perfect colour match and it works every time! 

The lesson I learned from this long process of solving a growing problem, is to stop getting in my own way. Our thoughts, our negativity, our assuming the worst, our critical thinking, blah, blah, blah... All that garbage needs to be shoveled out and kicked to the curb, if we really want to see the possibilities for something better.  

So there you have it. This is how I Handled a Handle. If you need help sorting through your old garbage thoughts, contact me and we can start shoveling together!
 
At https://JuliaGrace.ca and https://JuliaGraceHealer.com