By Sandye Linnetz
I went to bed last night wondering if I should take a ‘day trip’ to LA today. I would be driving in traffic for two plus hours each way to babysit for my 4 year old grandson, Max, and go watch his T-ball game at (groan) 8:00 am on Sunday before heading back on the long trek to my desert home. Oh, sure, I miss his face (I ALWAYS miss his face) and I’ve never been to one of his T-ball games, BUT… Five hours of driving in less than 24 hours?
It seemed waaay too early to get out of bed when I awoke this morning – and I had no good reason to be awake. Hmmm, should I ‘trance’ myself back to sleep? Play candy crush? Go for a run? What should I do with this glorious, sun shiny day? Make that crazy drive or relax at home? If only I had a sign…
For me, signs and miracles abound. They are everywhere, seriously, EVERYWHERE! It is possible to look around and not see them, but I promise, they are there. You know how when you get a new car or an engagement ring – or pregnant, you suddenly see YOUR car (or diamonds or big bellies) everywhere you look? It’s like that. You see what your attention is focused on, don’t you? When your attention is on signs and miracles you notice them. (Yes, there is that whole thing about what you make things ‘mean’, but let’s cover that another time.)
Anyway, after weighing my options, I decided to go for an early 3-mile run this morning. I generally set myself up for success by deciding that:
- This is going to be AWESOME because I’m going to feel so good about taking care of my body!
- My audio book (or downloaded podcast or Pandora or whatever) is going to rock my world!
- And… here’s the IMPORTANT one for today… I’m going to see something that will blow me away. I actually plan this part – not what I’ll see, just that there will be something worth seeing.
If you KNOW there’s something amazing to see, you don’t want to miss it so you look for it, don’t you? When you expect to see ‘something’, you do (well, I certainly do!). I’ve seen pure white lizards, breath-taking mountain/desert scenery, ice sculptures and snow slides (really, in the desert), half-buried coins, blooming flowers, brass spigots and other cool debris. I look – therefore I see.
That brings us back to this morning and my run. As I completed mile two I felt great and still hadn’t made a decision about my possible ‘road trip’. Then, as I made the final turn toward home, I looked up past the palm trees and cactus at the bright, baby blue sky and there it was… my sign. Maybe they were just a couple of clouds – well, they actually were just a couple of clouds, but really? Could they have looked more like a bat and ball? If it’s all interpretation, point of view and story, anyway… that’s mine! I’m heading to LA and a 4-year-old budding Mickey Mantle – with my foot on the pedal and my head in the clouds.
And so the signs. They are always there… sometimes they’re just out of focus. Get focused. Notice. What have you been missing?