I have determined that’s Craig’s List is God–not figuratively, and not in the sense that we’re all, like, God, but, literally, Craig’s List is God.
Craig’s List has all the qualities of God:
It is ever present, all-knowing, all powerful.
It is free most places.
It is a consistent loving presence.
It is all-sufficiency–meaning it fulfills all your needs.
It always says yes.
The more specific you are, the more you know about what you want, the more quickly and particularly Craig’s List fulfills your deepest desires.
What am I talking about?
It’s this: there are always lots of ads on Craig’s List for everything under the sun. As in all things, if you don’t rely on what you perceive ‘out there’ to determine what you get, you can be disappointed. Hence, if you simply browse on Craig’s List kind of looking at want ads, looking at furniture ads, looking at housing swaps, hoping that something may catch your eye, you will find things. Just as you will see things outside of you in the world that you desire all the time.
If you email the people who put up those ads, you may be the one that gets to buy it, live in it, work for it or own it, but you may not. It’s hit and miss, a crap shoot–sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
On the other hand, instead of looking outside yourself to see if someone has what you vaguely want, how about you look inside yourself. Figure out what it is that you want with a great deal of specificity, and place a free ad on Craig’s List–voila!
Now it’s a different story–in Craig’s world, the advertiser always wins. The people answering your ad are now in a crap shoot–but you’re lucky every time.
An example: I wanted to find a cheap apartment to rent in Manhattan for a few nights–a real place that someone lived, not a hotel. There were two adults and 4 kids among us. Most of the apartments were too small or fancy. Everything suitable turned me down. So I placed an ad, “two law professor moms seek any manhattan abode big enough for 1 10 year old, 2 8 year olds and a two year old from August 1 to August 10, will pay up to $100 a night.” Within hours, I get all kinds others– one of them is perfect, we stayed there and all was well.
This has happened over and over again for me on Craig’s List. Recently I came to the realization that this is exactly how God works. If I am clear about what I want and place my free ad with audacious specificity–God comes through, lickity spit. It’s when I’m vague and “shopping” for happiness, that I falter.
How good it is to know that Craig’s List is God.