Based on a True Story: Meet Currie Rose

One of blogging’s many beauties is that it opens doors to meet new people around the world.  Shortly after I started my blog, I began “wandering” around the internet.  I wanted to see what other people had to share.  It was a day like any other when I read “Based on a True Story” and met an extraordinarily inspirational individual, Currie Rose.

Currie and I have never met in person.  We’ve exchanged a few emails and some Facebook comments and conversations.  I don’t ‘know’ her, but I can honestly say that in the thousands of people I have met all over the world, she is the most courageous.

Currie Rose, the most courageous person I know.

Currie calls herself a Professional Sunshine Spreader who is on “a quest to do as much good as I can in as many places as I can with as many people as I can as long as I am able! I’m not homeless, I am a Rolling Stone who is on tour!”  After a difficult childhood, she left home young, joined the Airforce, and got married and divorced all by the time she was 25.  She hit the road with her beloved car and journeyed to LA to share joy, gratitude, and peace with as many people as possible.  Not everyone was ready to receive or share in her passion for making a difference.  She ran into some extremely tough times.  Currie’s actions in themselves were brave (or foolhardy, depending on who you’re talking to), but that’s not what makes her the most courageous person I know.

Currie is courageous because she lives fully and deeply from her heart. She is being the change she wishes to see in the world.   Read on to hear about Currie’s life in her own words…

Professional Sunshine Spreader

What prompted you to begin this journey? 

To sum it up quickly, after seeing much “hardship” in the events of my own life and having to struggle to get help at every twist and turn (and struggle to be aware of the authentic help available), I began to see my own “problems” as a gift.  I find that I was given the opportunity to live my utopian dream and travel around creating a global family in which I unlock the love within us all and live first hand the unconditional spiritual, material and emotional support we are all in possession of in deep reserves and how we all have the power to assist one another using those tools to become our highest version of ourselves.  In a nutshell, this world doesn’t have to be such an isolated struggle; we all posses the ability to lift one another up and I want to draw awareness to how much power we all have to create a more conscious and unified world.

Was there a particular moment where you just decided to leave everything and go? 

 Yes.  One day while I was grappling with coming up short for rent money and beating myself up for being in this position again, I realized, “Oh… wait a second.  This common reoccurrence must be a gift.  Maybe this is the Divine’s way of waking me up to the path I have been trying to put myself on all along.  Maybe this is a brilliant action step toward creating this Global Family idea which dances so vividly in my heart…”  So, I let go and I trusted that everything which happened was simply a stepping stone toward my purpose and that the path would reveal itself if I stopped looking to fit it into a neat category … I decided to trust.

Meet Currie Rose!

 What is the difference between “homeless” and being a “Rolling Stone On Tour”?

 To me, homeless is a mentality. I do not buy into that “down and out” school of thought and find I have a choice in how I view my journey. Also, I find that the connotation of homeless invokes pity from others and that is the last thing people should feel when interacting with me. I am a Rolling Stone on Tour, living from my heart and when I do have money, I use it to pay my bills, contribute to others, eat lots of organic green foods (if I’m not dead set on self-sabotage) or partake in self care. People who believe themselves to be “homeless” do not do many of the things I do… therefore I prefer to call myself a Rock Star.

How would you describe a global family?

To me, it is conscious acknowledgment of the interconnected oneness that makes up humankind.  I feel that our world is far too “me/mine” centered and we are long over due for a paradigm shift that turns “mine” to “ours… we.”  We all have the power to help one another in a plethora of ways from basic needs and beyond. This idea of separateness and security are false and the only true reality I have experienced in this world is each other.  We are all subject to loose or gain anything in a split second.. No one has ever achieved anything great (and I believe we are ALL destined for greatness) without help and it seems to me that a lot of help is exclusive, disempowering or held behind an invisible lock and key.  I believe it’s time to wake up and release this fear of truly loving one another.  Don’t get me wrong, each individual has to help themselves as well… but I think we as a global community can step it up and consciously meet each other half way on each and every one of our journeys. Can you imagine an inspired world where we consciously help one another evolve into our highest version of ourselves?  

Global Family

What are your 3 favorite quotes from your gratitude journal? (Currie keeps a gratitude journal and writes in it almost daily)

1. Thank you for giving my heart the easy ability to smile and to give that joy generously to everyone I encounter.
2. I love that I am doing my laundry and will have exceedingly clean blankets and clothes to luxuriate in.
3. Dear God:  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I love you and Thank you… Thank you… I LOVE YOU!!! If I thank and love you God, then I thank and love me Currie because I am you and you are me… Wow, this existence is INCREDIBLE and I love being alive! Thank you!

What are 3 of the most important “lessons” you’ve learned from your journey?

1. No matter what happens, I always have the power to choose how I feel.
2. It’s okay to let others see me- in fact if I am to survive I have to learn to allow others through my invisible force field.
3. I am completely human, I make mistakes and have growing pains, but I can choose to forgive and love every aspect of my being in the process.

Honestly, I’ve learned to stop responding. I find the best way to explain what I am doing is simply by living it. This is because it is so different to most people and it is human nature to want to label things and put things in a box. I find many people become uncomfortable when they cannot put things into neat categories, and since my life cannot really be summed up into one neat label, some people either try to “fix” me or explain to me what I am doing and what I will learn. I’ve learned to let that be okay. Often in these lectures, I find myself saying repeatedly in my head, “God Bless You. I love you. Namaste,” so as to deflect some of the unnecessary negativity it may trigger. Last, I remember that I am the only one who is walking my path, only I can define what I am doing and I simply choose to be the change I wish to see in the world. 

Gratitude goes a long way

What is one of the most beautiful moments you’ve experienced during your adventure and really felt the universe provided for you?

It may seem small, but every night for about the first week I chose to start sleeping in my car, I would ask God/Goddess/Source to tell me that I would be safe and that I was making the right choice. Each night as I drove to my parking area, the same exact song played on the radio. “You Are Not Alone” by Michael Jackson. That repeated coincidence usually caused goose bumps all over my body and tears to fall from my eyes, and I knew I wasn’t alone and that no matter what happened, I would be okay.

What is the hardest for you in following this journey?

Receiving/Asking for help. When I ask for help, I find that it opens the floodgates for the naysayers to judge and tell me how they are feeling. Also, when I do receive help, it brings up a plethora of unresolved issues for me to deal with…. including letting people in and allowing myself to be loved unconditionally.   

What is the easiest for you in following this journey?

Giving. The easiest part for me is giving. Sharing my meal with the homeless or giving away spare change, smiles inspiration or hope. I love that through consciously downsizing, I have found trust that I will always be okay no matter what which allows me to give to others without a whole lot of reservation for my position in life.

You seem to so easily open your heart in your writing, and yet sometimes you talk about the difficulty of letting people in, as with your recent post about saying “I love you.” What have you learned about vulnerability through this journey and how do you feel about letting people in now versus when you started?

It’s still a work in progress. It’s funny, through writing I can communicate from the authentic depths of my soul, but there is a disconnect in how I actually interact in tangible reality through verbally expressing myself and being with others. I have found that I have a strong fear of disappointing others and therefore, I have difficulty getting close to anyone. Through what I am doing, I do have strong philanthropic urges of awakening the world to all the love which is around us… but I am also on my personal journey which seems to be all about learning to accept and trust the love of others. The more I travel this path wanting to make the world aware, the more I grow in personal awareness.

If you had to sum up the past 2 years in one word, what would it be?

TRUST

What would you do if you had 6 months to live? (She answered a LOT so in the interest of length, I’ve edited)