Some mornings ago, after completing my walk, I struck up a conversation with Linda B, one of a group of early morning walkers. In the course of our chat, Linda B began to tell me about something called ‘The Golden Key’. Ever since she had first read about it in a small book by Emmett Fox, she has been using it to address challenging situations in her life, with great success.
“Whenever you meet difficult people or situations in your life, ‘Golden Key’ them and let it go,” she told me. “Somehow things open up. But you have to release it when you say it, don’t dwell on it. Don’t keep saying ‘please, please’.”
She told me to try it and advised that at first, I should apply it to simple things. “Test how effective it is by starting with small things in your life which seem difficult, like finding a parking space. Instead of getting frustrated, Golden Key it, make a circle in the parking lot and when you come back there will be a space.”
That day I ‘Golden Keyed’ many things, parking spaces included, and in each situation, successful results were immediate. I began ‘Golden Keying’ bigger situations, with similar victory. How to say it: “I Golden Key ___________________” (fill in the blank). The example of the Golden Key is interesting in light of recent frustrations and unfortunate losses experienced by ‘Tobago peeps’ who have been unable to get the ferry or a flight to Trinidad for important matters.
These cases have included people with medical issues who are unable to get to Trinidad in a timely fashion (or at all) for treatment . . . people who have had to miss family funerals in Trinidad ... someone who was unable to take his dog for emergency eye surgery in Trinidad ... Recently a Venezuelan couple booked to spend their vacation at Castara Retreats. They had flown to Trinidad, only to have to return to Venezuela due to their inability to get a connecting flight to Tobago.
“It is terrible. It is really, really terrible!” one frustrated woman told me as we discussed the issue. “Recently I tried to book a flight days in advance for a business matter in Trinidad .... and I still couldn’t get a flight! Then we had to go to Trinidad yesterday for a funeral. There were delays ... to go and to return! We were two hours late for the funeral and, on top of that, we were late to return for our Heritage rehearsals that evening. And there are no apologies or explanations on the ground. You just have to wait!”
In the absence of any swift alleviation of this problem, one may wonder if a technique as simple as the Golden Key could be useful. Of course Linda B. was able to give an example of success in that department:
“We were having difficulty at the port to get back to Trinidad,” she told me. “While one member was inside negotiating, I was outside Golden Keying. There were so many people ahead of us, but next thing you know, after our negotiator had spoken with an officer, our name was called and everything went without a hitch. We were able to get the boat. There was only one boat working.”
Try it as Linda B. advises: “Make it a habit that whenever you experience something difficult in your life you Golden Key it and let it go. Don’t dwell on it. It’s a faith-based thing. It will show up when it’s supposed to.”