Texas
where things are always working out for me...
There is a saying, popular in the Abraham Hicks Law of Attraction circles, which states everything is always working out for me. I think this will be my new mantra every time I have to travel to Texas. Lord knows I could use the good vibes.
Texas is weird. No offense to any readers who might currently reside there. But if you do live there, you already know this. I don’t see how you can think it’s not weird. I mean, it’s where Buc-ee’s originated, need I say more?
I’ve been to Texas twice since last September. I think that’s enough to last me a long while.
In January of 2025, all thoughtful, intelligent people in the US had a very rude awakening. Some people predicted what would happen after dumpy retook the White House, but honestly, the rest of us—who naively assumed democracy was, after 249 years, still kind of in it for the long haul—the last 14 months have been a nonstop assault on said thoughtfulness and intelligence. For some of us, our nervous systems are only hanging on by a thread.
By last summer, I was, putting it nicely, a freakin’ mess. My nerves were shot. I wasn’t sleeping through the night, and I spent a lot of time online. Democracy could be destroyed at any minute!! On the bright side, I learned a lot about politics and our government, and just how shaky democracy is. So in July, I decided to apply for German citizenship.
Until 2024, Germany wouldn’t let people become citizens whose mothers had emigrated from Germany during a specific time period 🙋🏻♀️ (I forget the dates but it was weird, like between 1914 and 1971). And of course that applied to me. But in 2024 the government decided that oh, that policy was actually sort of discriminatory, so they changed the laws. I am now eligible.
It took me two months to get an appointment at the consulate, and in September, M and I drove down. He’s already a dual citizen, but had let his passport lapse, so he made an appointment to renew it. We drove there and back in two days. Let me tell you, that’s a lot of Texas in a very short time. Texas has a few trees, some good music, and a couple of Ikeas, but is made up primarily of pickup trucks and concrete overpasses, so running into traffic everywhere wasn’t unexpected but still a bummer. We got off the beaten track for a “health food lunch” at some weird hippie restaurant in Huntsville, home of Sam Houston State University. I know nothing about the school or the place but it felt kinda culty? Anyway, the salad was good and we got a very good cappuccino before getting back on the road. Oh, and we stopped at a Buc-ee’s. It was so triggering I only lasted a few minutes.
Two months later, I got an email from the German government—my application is now in the queue and in a mere 25 months, citizenship could be mine! Just this possibility has gone a long way toward helping me feel better. It’s always nice to have an emergency escape plan. Everything is always working out for me.
A few months ago, someone introduced me to the group of Buddhist monks walking from Fort Worth, TX to Washington, DC. For peace. For no other reason than to spread loving-kindness throughout the world. Here’s something a friend sent me that someone posted to the monks’ FB page. I haven’t had time to verify it, but thought it was interesting:
In the Buddhist tradition and other spiritual lineages, a peace walk (often called a Yatra) is indeed undertaken specifically when the world is perceived to be in a state of Dukkha(suffering) or “out of balance.”
While there isn’t a single “prophecy” that triggers these walks, the philosophy behind them is deeply rooted in the idea of restoring equilibrium through focused intention.
Why Walks Happen During Imbalance
The Concept of “Engaged Buddhism”: This movement, popularized by Thich Nhat Hanh, suggests that spiritual practice shouldn’t just happen in a monastery. When the world faces war, environmental crisis, or deep social division, the “practice” must move into the streets to physically manifest peace.
Healing the Earth’s “Grid”: Many monks believe that the physical act of walking—slowly and mindfully—sends a calming vibration into the ground. By walking through areas of conflict or tension, they believe they are literally “treading peace” back into the soil.
Can you imagine? A group of Buddhist monks taking this on for all of us? No wonder they captured so many hearts all over the world. Because this is what we are needing.
Well, they definitely captured my heart. The videos and photos of them on their journey were the only things I saw online that made me cry tears of happiness instead of tears of anger/frustration/fear/insult/outrage. I’m not actually a big crier. But those darn monks. So amazing. I kept wishing I could see them on their journey, but I didn’t discover them until they were already in Georgia. So when I heard they were inviting people to walk the last few miles back to their temple when they returned to Texas…
A friend and I drove down to Fort Worth on Friday, 2/13. We got in late, checked into our hotel room, and went to bed. It was one of the worst nights of my life.
I can’t sleep in hotels. I guess I’m sensitive to other people’s vibes? I don’t know. But a whole building full of people feels really frenetic to me from an energetic standpoint and I can’t settle. I know I’m supposed to create a bubble of protection or whatever, but I just haven’t had success with it. Well, I sure wish I could’ve pulled that off at the Courtyard by Marriott Fort Worth at Alliance Town Center.
Because around 1:30 am, our neighbors decided to get it on. And I’m not talking about nice getting it on, although I’d argue any time you have to hear someone else doing it, it’s never nice. No, this was what I’d call methed-up prostitute sex. (Hey, I write books, I make up stories, ok?) It was one of the most horrible things I’ve heard in my life. The caterwauling! And also some arguing just to round it all out.
As I lay there, listening to that racket and then some snoring, I kept repeating, everything is always working out for me. Although for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how no sleep plus traumatizing sex noises was working out for me.
I also wondered that at 5:30, when the happy couple engaged in round two.
After a mediocre breakfast burrito (breakfast included!), we went to the park where the monks’ bus was arriving from DC. From there we would all walk about a mile to their temple, and watch a ceremony for their homecoming. The bus was supposed to let the monks out on one end of the street and they’d walk past everyone before turning the corner and going to the temple. Well, the bus stopped short and the monks never came by. But we saw the bus!
The neighborhood on the way to the temple was pretty run down. Lots of chickens around, broken down cars, houses needing a lot of work. But still people came out to their porches and waved at everyone going by. Everyone was smiling. It was lovely.
After a lot of deep breathing and a lot more everything is always working out for me, we and about a million other people got into the temple grounds. There were many speakers—council members, a police chief, a representative of the mayor maybe. Lots of talking. And then it started pouring. I got out my “emergency parka” and hunkered down. Most people didn’t leave and stood their ground. If the monks could walk 2,300 miles through rain and snow, we could get a little wet before we headed back to our cars.
We got to hear the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara speak, and we saw Aloka the Peace Dog! Everyone was invited to stay for lunch, but the rain was too much for us then, and we left after walking the temple grounds. I offered Quan Yin, goddess of compassion, my mandarin orange.
After changing shoes and socks in the car, we went to Avoca, one of the best coffee shops I’ve ever been to (and that’s saying something, I’ve been to a lot!). We regrouped with flat whites, and decided to hit the road and hope our pants would dry on the drive home. After a stop at Buc-ee’s (I lasted a few minutes more this time), we drove straight through: about 4 ½ hours. I was very happy to come home.
But standing there in the temple grounds, with the sound of the rain hitting my parka and the blessings of the monks’ chanting floating all around us and out into the world… It was all worth it.
Everything is always working out for us.
I liked Texas when I lived there but that was long before Maga and trump. The people were nice and I love their sense of history. The problem with me now is that the cities are all so dang big and the traffic so heavy.
Congrats on your pending German dual citizenship. I know other people arranging escape plans. My eldest niece and her family are dual with Australian citizenship. She married an Aussie, who now dual citizenship as does their daughter. I also know a woman who gained a British license for her profession as a step to getting British citizenship. (Apparently it helps, if you can show you are going to support yourself.)
I hate Buccees. Only been in once and I do not anticipate a return visit.
I live in Oregon and I only recently heard of Buc-ee's (did I write that correctly?) when my friend Roy who lives in Nashville wrote about it. I hate to admit it, but I kind of love places like that. I've never been to one, though, so who knows. Loved this piece, Andrea. May things continue to always work out for you and those monks.