For those of you who are, like me, old enough to remember such things, there was a delightful little sitcom on TV in the ’70s, called “Laverne & Shirley”. It spun off from another sitcom, “Happy Days”. (While it may have been a while ago, my barely-grown daughters are familiar with both shows, so you probably are too. But if not, you can always Google it.)
Laverne and Shirley were roommates and best friends, so in the pilot episode, they moved into their new basement apartment in Milwaukee. A scene that sticks with me is where Laverne is trying to get her key out of the lock. She’s tugging with all her might, pushing one foot against the door for leverage, but the key won’t budge.
The landlady stops by and Laverne complains, “I can’t the stupid key out of the lock!” The landlady reaches for the key and pulls it out with ease.
“How did you do that?” Laverne asks, incredulous.
“Don’t force it–pull,” replies the landlady quite simply.
Later, the scene is played out again with Shirley sliding out the key and telling Laverne, “Don’t force it–pull.”
I’ve thought about this a lot lately. Not because I have so much time to think about 1970s sitcoms, but because any time I feel like I am not attracting, creating, or accomplishing what I really desire, this simple phrase pops into my head: Don’t force it–pull.
Replace “pull” with “allow” or “receive” and you’ve got a powerful motto.
Sometimes when I feel like I am working very hard to create or attract what I want, I get this message and I think, I have to walk away, let go of all this “action” and simply allow my desires to manifest.
This is for you.