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Sunday, March 10, 2013

On mindfulness and the creeper at the bank...

I freak out whenever I see a cat (in a good way). I will spend more than a few minutes smelling candles in a TJ Maxx store. I have known to shop at 6 different grocery stores in 1 day, just to find the best deal on kale. My car is horrendously cluttered, and I like it that way.

And I'm super duper confused when it comes to metaphysical stuff.

I think it's normal to be "searching" for an answer, especially when you hit the early-mid 30's, as you've spent your 20's trying to figure out who the heck you WANT to be, then you spend your 30's making it happen (or something like that), with of course quite a few hiccups along the way, and oftentimes you end up doing something on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. (Let me just say that I'm not trying to teach some great lesson or anything, I'm just speaking purely from my uber-limited life experience).

I've said in a past post that I believe quite strongly that a lot of our purpose here in this life is to make connections - with each other, with other living beings, with whatever higher being you may choose (if that is your path), with that creeper at the bank (just be nice to him, he *probably* isn't actually stalking you). The connections will oftentimes give you signs to point you in the right direction, if you open your mind up to it. I really think I may be on to something here.

So in case you don't already know, my day job is program director for an organization that works with the homeless. There's a man in the program with whom I've become quite connected. He's struggled with alcoholism for quite some time and has a pretty colorful history (much of which is attributed to a rough childhood, which seems to be the case with many of the men in our program). He recommended that I read a book called The Four Agreements, which I read and thoroughly enjoyed (and frequently go back to when I need a reminder that I'm being ridiculous). So I went to him and asked for another recommendation, and he recommended The Alchemist. Later on that week, after I purchased it from the Kindle store, a friend and I were riding in my car and she out of the blue mentioned that The Alchemist is her favorite book ever (not knowing that it had been recommended to me and I had just the day before downloaded it).

During the course of all of these occurrences, I had a conversation with my mom on the phone and she told me to "stop and smell the roses." Not joking, the minute she said this, I was playing with a new listing app on my iPhone and the sample list on the app said "stop and smell the roses." WEIRD.

So of course, I read The Alchemist and loved it. Much of what I got from it was right in line with the iPhone app/mom message. During the course of all of THESE occurrences, I happen to be taking a course on a form of therapy that is based on the zen technique of mindfulness. Not sure if any of this means anything in particular but my dreamy, super optimistic and metaphysical-obsessed side thinks perhaps it could.

So what DOES all of this mean? The connections to others and the universe around us are super important. Coincidences can be just that, but I think if we notice them happening a lot, it could mean something a little more. Also, stop and smell the damn roses (or pet the kitten as I would do, unless of course it's feral, then it may not be a well-thought-out decision). Just a thought.

Anywho, if you haven't seen the screaming goats video, you totally should.

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