The Upside Down Creative Plan and Avoiding Foreclosure 
Dateline Asheville, North Carolina, July, 2009
News and Views from Asheville's Greenolina, Real Estate Eco-Steward
I'm working on a plan to help people who are updside down in their homes, facing foreclosure and possibly feeling "trapped".
Getting stuck in the short sale and foreclosure quicksand need not be the absolute rule if we can enroll the genius of the real estate muse.
But, I've been wondering, how does one get in touch with that particular creative intelligence.. . .??
I know that many home owners see themselves as trapped by today's housing market. Many are wanting to move on, but instead feel disoriented in an upside down world, or as if they are suffocating-- victims of the miasma of the current economic atmosphere.
To these people, I say there are remedies- IF we/they can access the creative intelligence that happens when whimsy, the toss of a coin, and chance become our/their allies.
Take for example the work of the great choreographer Merce Cunningham , who died at the age of 90 earlier this week, as an example. His biographer revealed that , " Injecting an element of chance into his work, expanded his choreographic choices that might otherwise be limited by habit. Zen philosophy, with its emphasis on the present moment, and a keen sensitivity to nature also informed his work," the biographer wrote.
Getting to WHAT IF
WHAT IF home owners (and their real estate professionals) gave Cunningham's notion of whimsy credence? What if we/they came upon unexpected solutions to the real estate conundrum by making connections with the nonsensical, the preposterous, the unreasonable outpourings of balderdash, bah-low-nee, drivel, poppycock, tripe and so forth? Truth is found in Strangeness, I've been told- "Strangeness AKA Blessings in Disguise.
In the arena of "Blessings in Disguise" realizing the difference between The Truth as Facts and The Truth of Emotion seems important to meas I search for a plan to help people who are upside down in their homes, and possibly facing foreclosure. So I am willing to search for truth in the unexpected. In my search for creative solutions, here's a multiple choice question I considered: :
Hummingbirds sip
•a) nectar
•b) sunbeams
•c) beer
Yes. There is a "correct" answer (a) -the very first answer on the list. But also there is whimsy- the humorous, the metaphorical. Here there is the delightful, the strange, the improbable, and the amazing- There are possibilities and connections just by letting phrases and/or /words stand next to each other.
One of my favorite poets, Mary Oliver wrote:
It doesn't have to be the blue iris,
it could be weeds in a vacant lot,
or a few small stones;
just pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest, but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.
Mary Oliver
Both Oliver and Cunningham are handing out clues about how to get beyond , how to let go of a need to feel totally situated-secure- all set. AND, that could be a good-thing. Because, let's face it, this real estate market is NOT all set---in fact it is UNsettled.
So, possibly in this UNsettled and unsettling environment, NOT grasping on to logic, but instead exploring what comes up is the secret. We can see this situation for what it is-without judgment-and embrace it-with all the compassion we can muster. I'm ready to give it a good try! That's my jumping off point for the plan to help people who are upside down in their homes, and possibly facing foreclosure.
Check back next week for updates.
AND....Let me know what you think. . .
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Ok you've got me interested but I want to whine because I don't want to wait until next week to find out what you plan is ; )
Hi Erin~
I'm still working on it...hope that this avenue will prove fruitful....
Ok, Miss janeAnn! When do we get the second chapter?
janneAnne--what a creative way to get our attention--upside down picture. I will remember that when i put together my next PP for fall sales class.
This is incredible. You have a special insight into what is possible.. thanks for sharing this incredible gift.
We'll be waiting from row for the next installment!
janeAnne, I loved this. Such creative thoughts. I too, look forward to the continued post on this.
janeAnne, You know me--there is no better place to be than outside the box! I believe that the desire for consumption and conformity is part of what drove us into this corner and getting out of it is going to demand a change in perception and perhaps even a major paradigm shift.
Shared housing options might start to be an option for those with large homes- whether it is a form of co-housing or taking in a boarder or using an extra bedroom as a mini B&B. How about looking for someone who wants a vacation or retirement home in the area but has no plans to move soon and would consider a lease back? That would still be selling but at least you would not have to move right away.
Give your house to a charity with the stipulation that you have a lifetime occupancy - I'm just thinking here but I know there are ways to do this and people do it all the time- the tax implications and details might or might not be a nightmare but this is a brainstorming session isn't it?