During my hiatus last month, the extraordinary singer and actress, Cher, celebrated her 77th birthday. That woman inspires me to keep creating and doing what I love no matter how many trips around the sun I’ve had. When I saw her birthday on my calendar, it reminded me of a fun and miraculous story that happened while I was living in Fort Lauderdale in 2014 right before her 68th birthday. It was such a great lesson, I thought I’d share it with you.
This story actually begins in the early 2000s when my longtime friend, Kate, received two complimentary tickets to Cher’s Farewell Tour. At the time, we did not know it really wasn’t her “farewell tour.” Cher has gone on the road twice since then. Farewell Tour or not, Kate had the right to give those tickets to whomever she pleased, and she decided to give them to her mother and sister.
A few weeks later at a backyard barbecue, I asked Kate’s mom and sister if they enjoyed the concert. They said it was okay. What? Okay. That hardly seemed like an appropriate word to describe an icon! I would have been dancing in the aisles the whole concert! They admitted that they liked Cher, but were not huge fans of her or her music. Stunned by this revelation, I asked Kate why she didn’t call me when she was looking for someone to use those tickets.
Kate’s defense: ”John, I know you love Madonna. But I had no idea you love Cher.”
My response: ”Kate! I’m a gay man. Of course, I love Cher!” LOL
Thus began a running joke that lasted over a decade. Whenever Cher came up in conversation around Kate, I would lament over never having the opportunity to see her in concert. Nor would I, since that was her Farewell Tour. “Oh, how I would have LOVED to experience her live!” Kate would shoot me a dirty but knowing look, and then we’d burst into laughter.
Fast forward to the winter of 2014. Kate had moved away but was back in Fort Lauderdale for a visit. Around the same time, Cher announced she was mounting another concert tour in the spring. I did not miss this opportunity to tell Kate that I’ve ALWAYS wanted to see Cher in concert. I’m laughing as I type these words remembering the look on Kate’s face when this topic returned to haunt her once again.
Realizing there was no statute of limitations on this joke, Kate decided to take action. She had worked as a producer in the entertainment business for years, so she had connections. One of those connections worked on Cher’s tour in costuming. Kate reached out to him and explained our long-running joke and asked if there was any way he could get 2 tickets to the show when it came to Fort Lauderdale. A few days later, he replied that he was pretty sure he could honor her request.
Excitement shot through me. After all the years of joking, it seemed like it was actually going to happen! The sad part was, I’d have to abandon the long-running joke if Kate managed to get me to the Cher concert.
Weeks, then months passed with no further communication about those tickets. Even if the concert hadn’t been sold out, the price of tickets was not in my budget at the time. As the date drew closer, it didn’t seem like CinderFella would be going to the ball after all. Oh well. At least I could continue to tease Kate about my love for Cher.
The day of the concert arrived, and I hadn’t totally given up hope that I would get a last-minute text message from Kate saying her connection came through. That afternoon, I facilitated a Family Constellations workshop in Wilton Manors. The miraculous healing that happens during these workshops always gives me a great sense of joy and satisfaction, so even though there was no message from Kate, I was feeling grateful and content after the workshop. I had made peace with the fact that I would not be seeing Cher that night.
I was probably home less than an hour when I received a text message not from Kate, but from my friend Tony. He said a client of his had two extra tickets to the Cher concert and would I like to have them? At first, I thought he was kidding because Tony is part of the circle of friends that participated in the ongoing joke. He assured me that this was not a joke!
Apparently, his client purchased a VIP box at the BB&T Center (as it was called then) and he had two tickets that were not being used. Not only were these great seats, the tickets included free parking! This all seemed too good to be true, but it wasn’t. I called my best friend from college (who loves Cher more than I do) and told him he’d better pick out an outfit because we are going to the concert tonight! He couldn’t believe it either!
What can I say? For so many reasons the concert was absolutely phenomenal. The costumes. The dancers. The set. It was all as fabulous as Cher herself. As were our seats! No jostling elbow to elbow with the crowds. We were safely tucked away in that box with a great view of the stage. What a gift we were given that night. I am so grateful to those guys (whom we had never met) for inviting us to share that experience with them. They even supplied drinks and pizza!
This last part about pizza was quite the cosmic wink from the Universe. My college friend and I often quote a comedy bit by Kathy Griffin where she makes fun of Cher for not knowing how to order pizza. Or as Cher called it, “make pizza happen.” Not only did Cher perform a stellar concert that night, she also made pizza happen!
What a lesson in the power of surrender! As soon as I gave up my attachment to attending the concert and replaced it with gratitude, peace, and contentment, Life delivered an experience better than anything I could have imagined. And in a way that I could never have imagined! I am extremely grateful to everyone who played a part in the making of this miracle. It certainly was a shift from fear to love.
If you are familiar with the lyrics of Cher’s 1998 chart-topping song “Believe,” you will understand when I say not only do I believe in miracles, I believe in life after love…after love…after love.
Would you like to experience a miracle? Could you use some help in surrendering? I would be honored to assist you with a series of Spiritual Coaching Sessions or a private Family Constellations Session. Both can help you see things from a new perspective allowing you to get unstuck and move forward with love. Send me an email with questions or book a session with the automated scheduler on my website. Thanks to technology, we can meet virtually no matter where in the world you are. I look forward to working with you!
This week, consider releasing an attachment or an expectation, then watch for a miracle to take its place!
What you believe is true for you.
A Course in Miracles ~ T-2.VII.5:5
