On Thursday my Little Man and I dropped the hubby off at work, and then decided to relish the beautiful weather by driving with the windows down, sunroof open, and music loud {yes, we both love listening to Star 99.1}. We didn’t exactly have a “plan” of where we were going to go, but since we both love music and singing, a drive on a nice, brisk, sunny morning was perfect.
I have to admit, there were times when I would drive and not even remember a moment of the trip, my mind so busy, almost roboticly {is that a word?} going from destination to destination. I used to be way worse, so much so that when my husband and I were dating, I would get us lost going around the corner from my apartment. He called it the “Jennie Loop” , since I was never fully paying attention, I never fully knew where I was going. Over the years I’ve learned and experienced the power of presence, so I practice daily to keep myself centered and in the moment, but being the imperfect human being that I am, of course, I still can get lost in thought sometimes.
This particular morning, I was lost in song with my son, but as I was driving down a busy main road in town, something spoke to me through the music and told me to look left. I noticed a man lying down in the grass. I immediately turned right into a little alcove to make a u-turn back to the man to make sure he was alright. As I was waiting to turn, I noticed zipping cars – car after car after car after car – speeding past the man. I rolled my window down and yelled “Are you ok?” as I was waiting to turn, but he was lying there still. My heart was pounding as I prayed this man was alright.
Finally, a truck pulled over and a woman ran out. Just as she ran up to him, traffic cleared and I was able to turn and pull over as well. I saw the woman talking to the man {he was very foggy but alright}, and I told her I would call 9-1-1. As I was on the phone with the 9-1-1 operator, the woman came over to my car window to tell me the details.
I was shocked! I knew this woman – we recently re-connected on Facebook and she attended a Yoga Day I put together. She loves yoga, and she even has a website all about yoga. We couldn’t believe the ‘coincidence’ that we ran into each other this way.
The police and ambulance arrived, and the man was fine, just a little tired from the walk and needed help getting home. Other cars stopped with 2 kind men and another woman, and the man lying down was accompanied back home safely.
I don’t think it was a ‘coincidence’ that I ran into my friend Lisa this way, though. I think it was a message. One of the amazing benefits of doing Yoga is its connection to being present, being centered. As the cars whizzed by, my heart pounded, and afterwards I thought I could have easily been one of those cars who just didn’t see what was right in front of me or just couldn’t hear the little whisper telling me to look left at the man lying down.
We miss moments when we are not present. Sometimes we miss the beauty of a bird flying past us, the miraculous moment when a flower first blooms, or even the sound of our children’s laughter; other times we miss the vulnerable cry for help of another human being lying in the grass or sitting next to us in the office or even at our own dinner table. We need each other for the joys and the pains, but we can only be there for each other if we are fully present in this amazing gift of life.
I am so grateful the man was OK, and I am thankful to Lisa, for pulling over and reminding me of this message. And glory to God for being the water in our vessels, and for speaking through the music.
