Some time ago I had a client who defaulted on her account. She avoided any contact with me, did not respond to emails or phone calls. She also had a copy of one my favourite videos, the Secret.
I spent a good deal of energy getting wound up and irritated over the whole affair. A client had never not paid me before - the nerve! And she had my copy of the Secret, one of the original editions with Esther Hicks. Double irritation. Plus the irony of missing the video that talks about deliberate manifestation only irritated me more! I found myself really peeved, thinking not-so-generous thoughts about my client, and then feeling guilty for lacking compassion and understanding.
It was an ugly cycle of bad vibes.
Needless to day, neither the money nor the video materialised as I continued with the negative diatribe.
Finally I decided what was really important in the situation. It was definitely to get the DVD back. The money was not needed, but the DVD was missed. I visualised the safe return of the movie, felt excited about the prospect of it being back in my hands, and sent one more text message conveying my good wishes and a request to return the video.
The video was returned, without a note, and its casing crushed.
I was happy to get it back and my silent good wishes for the client felt good. But there was still an underlying yucky vibe - why had she not paid me? It was like a festering sore.
To make things worse, each month my husband asked me if the client had paid me. Each month I would say 'no' with a guilty and uncomfortable flinch. He said, "do you want me to sue her?" He's a lawyer; they litigate.
No - absolutely not! As frustrated as I was about the non-payment, the thought of going to court in what felt like for me a malicious pursuit was even worse. It was better to suffer the bad debt than invite that kind of anger and animosity in to my life. After all, I did not need the money, and there were probably extenuating circumstances.
This is where compassion crept in. Who knows why the client defaulted? I knew she was going through a marriage break-up and a job loss. These are distracting and challenging events for anyone. She probably had a lot on her plate and an unpaid bill was the least of her worries. So I decided to keep a place in my heart for her and sent her loving thoughts. I wished her strength in handling the personal crisis.
Ultimately I decided that I just did not want to feel bad about the situation. It had really been eating me up inside. My peace of mind was not worth the outstanding account. I let go of needing her to pay the bill and decided to write off the debt.
I also decided the whole situation was really about my own old issues with money still surfacing. Some old vibrational patterns run deep, and situations like this press old buttons. Being free of the buttons was more important to me than anything else. I wanted to be free of the emotional charge of worry around money once and for all, so letting go of the account felt good. It felt really good.
It also allowed me to set up systems that would prevent this issue from occurring in the future with any other client. that way there was never any apprehension around billing time. It was all automatic. It felt good for me, and easy for both me and my clients.
So surprise, surprise when I received a text message from the client with the delinquent account that read: "so sorry to have taken so long to get back to you. Here is my address - please send the invoice here." The client and the account had slipped from my attention when I decided to release the need to get paid. And here she was, a few months later, asking for the invoice!
I smiled. Of course. When you let go of the need to have your desires fulfilled, then that is when you allow them in to your life. No struggle, no pain, no anxiety. Boy that feels good!
This is the lesson in manifesting for me: it's never really about getting the goods. It's always about the peacefulness and feel good place you experience when you set an intention, and then focus on living a good life now.
Blessings and mucho fun manifestation to you!
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