God Pays Parking Ticket

July 7, 2013

A few weeks back I went to a spiritual program in a quaint historic town in West Virginia. It’s a lovely place, complete with a small university which has its own campus sidewalks patrolled by a security force. If you’ve ever visited such a small town, you might also be familiar with the local police and how vigilant they can be at prosecuting any one that might break local rules, regardless of the circumstances. So here’s how it went. I arrived at the location about 4pm and pulled up to the side of the campus sidewalk in what I believed was a legal spot even putting money in the meter. I then attended dinner and the evening program after registering in the dorm.

ImageThe next morning I went out to the car to find a ticket on the windshield. At first I was very confused thinking that I had gotten the ticket for parking near the dorm. Then I read the ticket more carefully; it said, “For parking in the wrong direction”. Wow, I couldn’t believe it. Apparently, the evening before when I had parked near the program at campus, I had pulled up to the parking meter on the wrong side of the street. Since there were no other cars on the street that Friday afternoon during the summer break (no students were on the campus), I didn’t realized that I was on a two-way street headed in the wrong direction. I went into breakfast rather wired having just received a $90 ticket! Ok, so technically it was my fault; according to the absolute letter of the law, I was in the wrong. However, I wasn’t familiar with the town or the roads and after driving for 1 ½ hours through the countryside to get there I was a bit disoriented (I tend towards motion sickness on curvy, windy roads).

Once at breakfast, I tried to calm down and began to figure out my course of action. I could go down to the police station a couple blocks away and plead my case (ignorance, of course). I thought the police would understand if I was nice and explained that I was from out of state, etc. At the program the night before, I had made a new friend who was now helping me think through what to do. In addition, she insisted upon going with me on my mission which fueled my courage, as well as resolve.

As we left the dining hall another woman handed me a retreat brochure, which I tried not to take, already having one, but she insisted. I left with the brochure in hand wondering why she had given it to me. As my new friend and I walked up the street, I went over my “speech” that I would give to the police. We had a bit of trouble finding the address, which gave us more time to be together as well as for me to think about the situation until I said, “Well, the worst that came happen is that I pay the ticket and God sends me another client to help me pay for it”. At that moment, I opened the brochure and stopped in my tracks – since there were 4 $20 bills inside – $80 in cash. I stood there in amazement. No one had ever given me money like that and I didn’t even know the woman who had handed it to me. I told my friend that I couldn’t accept it but she insisted that it was a gift and I had to accept or be rude.

We finally found the police station and it was closed. I wrote a check and put it in the box outside the station placed just for the purpose of taking the envelope with parking payments. The police don’t even bother to open on Saturdays; they just have a box and expect people to pay the tickets that they issue with strict warning that otherwise one’s car could be impounded any time in the future. Not worth the chance.

When I went into the program for the morning session, I found the woman who had “paid it forward” by giving me the money. She told me her story; apparently, she was doing a friend a favor and getting a lot of money for it and felt like she had money to share. As a result, I decided to give her a reading. It wasn’t required, just a gift to her. She was thrilled with what I told her to the extent that she wanted to become a client. If she hadn’t helped me, I wouldn’t have known her and I wouldn’t have helped her. In the end we both benefited and God paid the parking ticket for me after all.

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Knowing when to let go

January 16, 2013

Relationships as well as friendships are much like marriages; it’s important to know when to let go. It can happen at either end. We all have a choice as to whether we wish to continue to be part of any relationship and either party can decide the time is up. The degree of anguish, hurt, or relief is a matter of which end of things one is on.
friendLe’s take an example. Suppose you’ve been in a very long friendship, say one that has endured for 25 or 30 years. You and your friend have exchanged visits, holiday cards, gone on trips together and talked about each other’s families for all those years. And then one day you begin to have trouble reaching this friend. At first, you figure he/she is just busy. After all, you’ve been friends for so many years and you didn’t have any arguments, what else could it be? So you begin to figure out what the other person is doing that would keep them from responding to you. Perhaps one of their children has been ill, or maybe they’ve been dealing with life issues that they don’t want to bother you with. This begins the excuse stage.

Next comes the worry stage. This is where you really start to wonder why your long-time friend isn’t returning your phone calls and/or emails. You begin to go over the last conversation you had examining how it went. Could there have been some clue that you missed? Why doesn’t he/she get back to you? Is something going on that you haven’t figured out yet?

Then there is the irritation stage. What have I done to deserve this behavior? So you try again. With one last attempt to be nice and give the other person the benefit of the doubt, you write an email, “I know how busy you must have been since I think one of your children is due to be married….”. A few weeks later, a response comes with no salutation, just the news that indeed the daughter or son or whomever did get married, but it happened months before (so guess what? You weren’t invited and I’m only telling you now to get you off my back…. Words in parenthesis are unspoken but implied). Wow. Now you know. It’s final. The relationship no longer has meaning. If your words of congratulations had meaning, then the news would have been provided more timely. People send invitations even to those they know can’t come just to “include” them. At a minimum, they send a notice. Not to receive anything is certainly a realization that one is less than an acquaintance. How did this happen?

When one begins the process of re-evaluation of the relationship, the whole thing begins to unravel. Was it ever a friendship or just a matter of convenience? No response is necessary. No other phone calls will ever be made or answered. It’s done. The realization is complete that the relationship is over. All that is left is to accept that a life-long friend may have been a mirage.

Talk about a life lesson. How can one discern friendship? Perhaps it was there for a while. Perhaps it wasn’t. All we can do is live with it and hope that our new friends are more worthy of our time and attention.

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We made it through “12/21/2012”

December 22, 2012

Today is December 22, 2012 and we’re still here. The sun is out and the day looks very much like any other day, except that it’s a very special day. You see, today is the beginning of a new world age.

According to the Mayans, every 5,125 years is a new beginning called a “world age”. The last time this occurred in 3114 BCE, we as a people were just at the forefront of human civilization as we know it. This time we are supposed to be more spiritual, more aware. Only time will tell if we are either of these. To understand this situation, let’s take a closer look at what it all means.

Remember at the end of 1999 when we all wondered if the clocks on computers were going to cause a catastrophic event when the programmed dials turned beyond December 31, 1999 since they were only “patched” to do so and not built that way? Well as we all know now, on January 1, 2000 we all woke up to find that the world in which computers now had a very important role was operating just fine. The system programmers may have worked late into the night to make sure that nothing happened, but in the end, we were all ok.

What we have now is a situation with similar aspects; expect instead of technical types “saving the day” it is the spiritual types coming to the rescue. According to the Mayans, this fourth world age that we are entering today is for a more enlightened world were balance is restored to the earth. This type of prediction is not unique to the Mayans. A new, brighter world where people work together has been predicted by many cultures. But this is also coming with a mixture of earth changes until the balance occurs. The Mayans predicted that “unless we balance out, the earth will respond”. With a new world age comes changes of many kinds. Some of these changes are part of natural cycles in the earth that happen over such long periods that we are not familiar with them. Take the cycle of the zodiac – the twelve planets that we know by our horoscope – Aries, Pises, Taures, etc. Well, it takes an astonishing 26,000 years for this cycle to occur and guess what, it is happening now. (NASA calls this cycle the procession of the planets and the change point a GREAT YEAR and it occurred on December 20, 2012). We are experiencing the end of one cycle of the planets and the beginning of the next.

The recent hurricanes and tornadoes in my local area of Virginia as well as all up and down the Eastern coast of the US is a testament to these earth changes. But please understand, these ferocious winds, rains and the devastation they cause are not normal, this is true. However, they are part of a larger natural cycle when we look at a much, much larger picture, just not what any of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes, or in this last world age for that matter.

When people say that we are living through special times, it is very true. What we need are people who are spiritual enough to get that we need to bring back balance and harmony into our way of life. Especially at this holiday season where excess in spending, eating, partying can allow us to get totally carried away, we need to remember that this is a time to share, love, extend ourselves and although we need to have fun too, it all needs to be done within a framework of proper balance. Excess is a negative and nothing positive starts from a negative. Let’s all start the New Year from positives. Remember what the theme of the holidays was meant to be and work to regain the spirit of love in any way you can. Only buy what you can afford. Share what you have. Help others less fortunate. Take time out for reflection.

In the end, these small bits of spirit will help the planet to find balance and perhaps help to calm the negative energies that are affecting parts of the globe at this time. It’s been shown that when large groups of people sit in meditation /prayer and send loving energy to a region, there is less conflict. Let’s be part of that energy to help the world be a better place and help to manifest what the Mayans hoped for when they predicted that 2012 would be the end of life as we know it and the start of something new. All the best for the new year…

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Admitting Defeat – Well, Almost

October 19, 2011

In my last blog article I wrote about how I asked God to send me a pet and one showed up. I fully believe that the right thing is the one that works out. Sometimes the whole picture isn’t known at the time or there’s more to the story. Here’s what happened.

The Divine Plan was at work

Yes, I let my pet sitter know that I was ready to welcome a fur pal for my 17 year old Judas who lost her brother to chronic renal failure in April (six months ago). And, yes, this cat rescuer had a beautiful tortoise shell female that I fell in love with. Well, I loved the exterior package and, as we know we can’t always judge a book – or a cat- by its cover. As it turned out, this cat was very pretty, but it had a mean disposition.  Although I kept it in a separate room for a week as I was instructed to do and I went into this room daily to play with it, I didn’t feel like we were bonding. Sure, the cat would come to me when I opened the door to get petted and for some treats, but that’s just because it was alone and wanted company. But after a few minutes, it had had enough and would whip its head around and slap me with the paw.

We don’t always know the whole picture

I kept telling myself that this was normal for a cat that had been on the street for awhile and had to get used to kind treatment. Then when she bite me I drew the line. Meanwhile, Judas knew the cat was in the house and didn’t like it at all. Judas was screaming day and night. The combination of her reaction and my experience made me come to the conclusion that this wasn’t the right animal to adopt. I had to back out of the agreement. Luckily, the cat rescuer told me that sometimes it just doesn’t work out. Whew!

But the right thing was happening

I really felt bad about the whole thing. I had started to get invested in this beautiful cat. I gave her a new name – Athena; bought a gorgeous crystal collar and name tag, as well as some new toys. Everything was salvageable except the name tag, a small price to pay for what would have been a very bad situation if left to continue.

I checked in with guidance and realized that the whole experience with this cat happened for several reasons. (1) I learned that I had to give affection on this animal’s terms and not mine. Ok. (2) The cat rescuer was going through some tough times and we had the opportunity to talk. As a result of this interaction, she decided to come see me as a client. This was good for her as well as for me. So, in the end, the right thing had worked out for all concerned.

 

 

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God, Please send me a pet!

September 28, 2011

 It’s been five months since my fur baby Hercules crossed over to Rainbow Bridge. Both his sister Judas and I miss him terribly. Sometimes she stands at the front door, which has a glass center pane, looking out and just cries wondering when he will return home. I come down the stairs and try to explain to her that I miss him too but that he isn’t coming home.  “Let’s welcome another fur baby who doesn’t have a home into our lives. It will help us heal while, at the same time, help a lost creature find a new home.”

I had helped my friend find a new pet two years ago by searching on the internet on animal rescue sites using the criteria he gave me. After several weeks, I found a two-year old male Virginia hound that was stated to be friendly to cats (after all there was his beloved Sherman to consider). So he went to the pet fair and met his soon to be Shelby, short for General George Shelby.

How can a pet find me?

This time, I wanted a pet to find me. When my Hercules and Judas were babies, they turned up at my house, then in a more spacious neighborhood allowing for the possibility of wild cats leaving their young. So, my guys found me and how lucky they were to find such a welcoming Mom! I wondered if such a thing could happen around a townhouse in a more compacted area; most probably not.

Help is close by

I told my pet sitter that I was ready (or thought so) for a new fur baby. She loved Hercules after caring for him for 12 of his 17 years and also understood my at trepidation about bringing a new pet into the house with his sister being an older animal like Judas.

Then she said, “One of my petsitters rescues cats and she has a new one available. I replied, “That’s great, but I’ve decided that I want a tortoise shell after seeing some young ones around the lake on my walk”. There’s a woman with 12 cats and some are tortoise shell or tortis, but she won’t part with any of them.

A new fur baby finds me

To my surprise, my pet sitter says, Her new rescue is a tortoise!” Wow! The writing was on the wall. I knew immediately that this cat was coming to me. The timing and the situation seemed to be falling perfecting into my lap so to speak. I felt that the universe was guiding me to this particular animal. I asked for the contact details and called the woman, Cathy and things just fell into place from there. I was able to visit the cat and found out what I needed to know. The torti was a female, about five years old, had just gotten her shots and appeared quite healthy. She was playful and seemed friendly to me. I immediately agreed to adopt her. Due to her golden markings between her eyes, I named her Athena, after the Goddess of Wisdom. (The sixth energy center is just between the eyes and signifies the energy of wisdom and psychic understanding).

My new fur baby

Athena would soon be mine after a very careful adoption process. More in my next posting.

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So Rude! Or, How Not to Date

August 2, 2011

I really wonder if people care how they sound or behave anymore. In the old days, people were taught to say something nice or not to say anything. My parents taught us to have manners! What has happened to people today? Where did their sense of themselves go? Once we are out in public, we are judged not only by our appearance, but by what comes out of our mouth, as well as our actions. Don’t they understand that when they leave their manners at home, they are simply rude? Ok, so here I go.

I’ve been interacting with single men lately and have some firsthand examples in this particular demographic of the population. I met a guy, let’s call him Tom for ease of discussion, whom I was to meet this past Sunday. We agreed to meet at a restaurant near his condominium. All he had to do was leave his apartment, come down the elevator to the ground floor, walk outside his building and go next door to the restaurant. One would think that the timing for this process would be short enough for him to make it to our meeting spot by the designated time. I had to drive to the restaurant, park the car, and walk around the corner to the location and I was right on time. Tom was late indicating a sense of self-importance. He obviously didn’t want to wait for me. Immediately this sent a message to me that he really didn’t care to be polite. Okay, so this was how the date was going to start. I knew from this first moment that it wasn’t going to go well. So, for all the guys out there, make sure you arrive before your lady or you will send a similar message. You should arrive and be waiting for your date. Don’t keep her waiting. That said, there are always extenuating circumstances. But this was a Sunday afternoon and there were none. He was just late. Tom now has one strike in my mental playbook.

We go on to the greeting. I held out my hand and put on my best smile. To his credit he not only took my hand but he pulled me towards him for a kiss on the cheek. Alright, that was a nice touch, but it felt a little out of place at our first meeting. This sent a signal to me that he really didn’t know what he was doing in terms of the energy he was sending to me. One minute he’s sending an “I really don’t care about you since I can arrive late” and the next it’s “but I can kiss you on the cheek”. Frankly, I was uncomfortable with the kiss.

The next step was to actually sit down at the table. I had already sat down at a table inside the restaurant as it was close to 100 F outside. He was after all late, and so I picked the location to sit. Rather than just leaving it at that, he actually said, “Why don’t we sit outside?” I thought it was pretty obvious that I wanted to sit inside. If I had wanted to sit outside, wouldn’t I have selected a table outside at which to wait for him? To ask me was an attempt to negate my obvious preference for his. This was another rather insensitive move on his part, and one which I took as a power play. Why does power always enter into the picture? Wow, we’d just met and a power struggle already. If it had been 10 degrees cooler I would have agreed, but I really couldn’t handle the heat so I told him, “It’s really too hot for me to be outside.” Again, having to repeat my preference made me feel even more uncomfortable.

At that point, he sat down and we went on to have an interactive discussion. This is where things got even more interesting. I found topics to ask him about such as the nature of his work and his upbringing.

Total lack of interest

He never once asked about me. As long as I was willing to continue to focus on him, he was willing to talk about himself. He showed no real interest in me. So why did he bother to meet me in the first place and then be so very insincere?

Meanwhile, he ordered an ice tea and I followed suit. When Tom decided the meeting was over at just about the hour mark, he put three $1 bills down in front of him. In a not so subtle way, Tom was telling me that he had no intention of even paying for my iced tea! The guy earned a six-figure income and couldn’t spring for $3. No matter how you feel about someone, paying for the lady is the proper thing to do, especially if the tab is just a few dollars.

To sum it all up, Tom had no manners, was totally self-absorbed and was so very rude! I wonder how others treat him since what you send out comes back to you. I’d hate to be him looking in the mirror.

 

 

 

 

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