Spiritual Tree Prompt: Future

Why I Didn’t Worry When My Cash Flow Stopped

We live in an abundant Universe. There is enough for everyone.

The Future is unpredictable. The darn thing is always a day away.

I worked as a children’s entertainer when the world, and along with it, my cash flow came to a screeching halt.

For the past 12 years, I have been working as a balloon twister, entertaining kids of all ages.

Most people call me a balloon artist, and I can see their point of view, but the truth is I am not a balloon artist.

An artist creates something new. I don’t. At least not in the world of balloon twisting. For me, it’s a craft I have learned. I recreate what others have, and it enables me to earn a comfortable living providing me the freedom I crave. At least it did until it stopped.

I give away balloons, and people give away money. It works for me.

I started twisting balloons in 2008 while I was still living at home. In 2009, I started experimenting with part-time nomadic living, a week or two at a time. Back in those days, I used Greyhound buses for traveling because they still had the See America Pass.

For a fixed price, you can have unlimited travel for a given period. I would carry my balloons with me, and wherever I went, I twisted balloons and handed them out to children I saw.

Surprisingly, but not really, it would pay my expenses for the week or two that I was on the road. I mentioned it in a Toastmasters speech that I would give away balloons, and people would give away money. It worked for me.

Eventually, I became a full-time nomad, and balloon twisting has supported me for the past twelve years. Along the way, I have learned lessons that have given me peace of mind and a philosophy that serves me well.

When I walked from Chicago to Santa Monica, from July 2016 to January 2017, my balloons supplemented my other efforts, such as blogging on Patreon, selling photography, and personal fundraising.

My philosophy is simple. I am here to put a smile on a child’s face. If I get paid for it, that is a bonus. I am happy with all the gifts I have received over the years. When people are concerned about not having cash on hand to tip me, I shrug it off and tell them that one balloon is not going to kill me.

I remember one time when I was in Austin, TX, twisting at a Cici’s Pizza while visiting the city. A lady gave me a ten-dollar tip because she said that the previous time she didn’t have any cash, and I gave her child a balloon anyway. I realized that the last time I was in Austin before that was three and a half months earlier. What were the chances that she would be there on the same day I was visiting the town and working for a few hours?

There are so many times that I had similar experiences that I don’t concern myself with from where the money is going to come?

A woman starts lactating long before the baby is born. Providence provides. All I need to do is show up in the world with what I have to offer, that’s all.

We live in an abundant world. There is more than enough for everyone. When the time arrives, our needs are fulfilled in some mysterious way.

This is my response to the weekly prompt, Future.

As always, thank you for reading and responding.

More about me:

Rasheed Hooda is a published author and a regular contributor to ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium where writers support each other.

He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)

“You can let others tell you what it means to be successful, or you can decide it for yourself.”