Practicing Alchemy

Turning Lead into Gold

Writing can be a practice of alchemy. From my earliest days as a writer when I was fifteen years old, I wrote as a way of understand the world and my human experience. There was so much that I didn't understand. So much of my life left me feeling as if there was no ground under my feet. My writing was like a life raft that kept me from feeling completely lost or drowning.

At fifteen, I wasn't a very good writer, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that it gave me comfort when I desperately needed it. Now that I am older and have the perspective of my age, I can look back on my life and take all of the most painful experiences and turn them into gold through my writing.

In the summer of 1992, I bought a one-bedroom condo in Aurora. I assumed a mortgage for $40,000. The condo had a Jacuzzi, a private patio, a fireplace, and a second patio that opened up to an inner courtyard. It was across the street from a park. I lived there for 5 years. One of the worst decisions I ever made in my life was to sell that condo.

After living there for five years, I sold it for $50,000. Today, fifteen years after the purchase date, it would probably be paid off. I would have been able to rent it for at least $750 per month and it would probably sell today for over $100,000.

Now, with 20/20 hindsight, I can see that selling it was a huge mistake. But I can’t go back into the past and change that decision. However, I can take a penetrating look at my life and my mental state at the time when I sold the condo and do my best to understand what led me to make that decision. At least I can say that it is a fascinating story. So I will turn my lead (the painful and dark moments in my life) into gold. Maybe I will write a memoir that will become a bestseller and I’ll make back all the money I lost by selling that condo!