Boxed in and empowered by my Word and the departure timeline I am promised to, of course the gods choose moments like this to test the faith.
Thus, called by love to insert a one day trip to LA to receive the mystic darshan hug of Ammachi (Amma.org for more info)Tuesday evening (awesome!) --- returning home Wednesday my normally totally trustworthy 1992 Geo's engine suddenly stopped running. I coasted to the side of the lonely stretch of desert mountain Interstate 8 I was then in, and there I stayed for the next 30 hours while being phone coached/guided in multiple ways to try to fix the problem. After many adventurous moments and thoroughly enjoying my night of sleeping on the ground, by the end of the second day I folded and called for help, and my faithful Yuma friend and mechanical educator Sean rented a Uhaul tow dolly and did a 250 mile roundtrip rescue, bringing me and my car back to my Mom's home in the wee AM, Friday . Finally, Friday evening (after facing the possibility that this car breakdown was potentially going to majorly change my planned itinerary … and therefore, to have integrity, communicating that to those who would be impacted) the gods allowed me to find the problem (a tiny well-hidden wire that had pulled out of a plastic electrical connector) which I fixed in 20 minutes.
So now I have two days left before my scheduled departure for the summer instead of the five I'd planned on, hence the 'Down to the wire' titling of this weeks report…
Inside the framework of a non-accidental universe, I choose to let faith fill in the gaps in my understanding. I can see the many blessings that the whole adventure contained… the darshan with Ammachi was a heartfelt homecoming, and the evolving interactive richness of my LA and San Diego social friendships added a brightening sweetness to my life too. Plus, one of my remaining bastions of contraction was also softened, as while stranded I had several positive interactions with helpful lawmen, one actually returning with a sandwich for me. I pinched myself as I accepted his gift, and offered to share my about to be cut into papaya with him, which he accepted (as he said he'd never seen one like it). So what did the passing traffic see? Why, a cop and me squatting down around a huge papaya, eating it with our fingers like watermelon slices. No lights flashing, no handcuffs, just a cop being a brother human.
As far as the several hundred dollars in unplanned expenditures that also occurred, that too I have accepted as somehow ordained. Twice non-returnable auto electrical parts that it ended up I didn't need were delivered to me (this involved requesting assistance from a distant second cousin who lived 20 miles away, so that that relationship also suddenly came to life), plus covering the costs of my rescue was not cheap, but it did give me the opportunity to affirm my faith in my supply as I let the pursestrings open. It IS only money, and it is not worth losing my Peace over (although, I did… for a little bit, until I remembered…).
Perhaps the enduring lesson I will be carrying with me is associated with the practice of attention. For upon finally finding the problem, it is clear that the reason I didn't find it much more quickly was that I was not able to be neutral and open to ALL possibilities… in other words, I somehow got focused on that the problem MUST BE 'over here', and I never even thought to follow that little wire to make sure it was good. I just assumed it was. So the corollary for "being neutral" is clearly "not assuming" to know something. As the Zen writing says: The Great Way is not difficult for he who has no preferences. That can be taken to an amazingly subtle level….
Now, the opportunity of the moment is to let it all go and get focused on final departure preparations… and as there is a lot to do, I will let this little report end here (instead of segwaying on to a commentary on the fascinating current events of the past week as our national insane obsession with 'security' via 'surveillance' found itself getting exposed to the disinfecting power of sunlight. I am grateful for the individual courage that brought this about, and accept that whatever the outcome, these events offer us a miraculous window for much needed course correction. Hummm… guess I ended up doing a little thumbnail segway anyway…oh well).
Many blessings upon all reading these words. Do come back soon. You are loved here.
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