Day 81 Paying Attention

There are some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed. You know those days, everyone does.  For whatever reason, right from the moment we awaken we have things go wrong, often things that have never gone wrong before.

We stub our toe, the car won't start, we're late to work, the boss is angry, we forget our lunch, we don't have supper together, we spill something greasy on our clothes.

Days like that we often think why did we even bother.

Other days we seem really aware of where we are, what we are doing, how to handle the problems that arise during a normal day.  We seem to be in tune with ourselves and with what The Powers That Be (PTB) want for us.

Days like that we wish we had more often.


And then, there are the in-between days. The days where we know we did get out on the right side of the bed, our attitude is good, our mindset positive.  Even when that guy cuts us off on the road.

Today, I had plans, plans I'd made a couple of weeks ago. The sort of plans that when someone asked what you were doing for the weekend you had a concrete answer to share.

So, I started off following those well made maps for the day and right from the start the PTB were telling me to do something and I wasn't paying attention.

I hadn't been up particularly late,

but when that alarm went off at my workweek time, I didn't hesitate to shut it off.  I did have another alarm set for the real time I wanted off, and when that went off, I didn't hesitate to hit the snooze button...twice.

Twice was enough.  Those eighteen minutes created a cascade of timeliness issues.  I left the house late, then missed the exit on the highway I wanted to take. The next one was blocked off.  By the next exit, I was long past where I'd intended to disembark the freeway.  I figured out a way to get back to where I needed to be and when I got to that street, it was blocked as well. Long story short - it was forty-five minutes after my appointed time and I still hadn't been able to reach my destination.

My next appointment was set for after 12:30.  I was over an hour early so I went and hung out at an independent bookstore and uncovered a new book by an author, John Scalzi, that C enjoys.

I picked up the book and read for a while, then purchased the copy.  I went to the location I was too meet my acquaintance and my acquaintance failed to show.  I walked across the street and picked up some Greek food to take home and double-checked where we were supposed to meet and still nothing.  My well-planned day didn't happen.

I really think those two things weren't supposed to happen which is why I'm okay with it.  When you get walled off a number of times trying to accomplish something and you continually meet with some form of unexpected resistance, well, sometimes it's just a good idea to let it go and maybe try another day (depending on just what you're planning). When we get clear directives through the cosmos and ignore those directions, we often reap some form of disaster.

It would be easy to say the day was wasted. It wasn't. At least not by these particular circumstances. I actually read some of John Scalzi's work and was able to give someone I care for a nice surprise.

Some people call events like this coincidence.  I don't happen to believe in coincidence, never have.  Maybe the disruption of my plans was spiritual, maybe not, but it wasn't an accident. Rather than spend the day with two people who don't have any sort of real vested interest in me, I spent the time with someone who does. My energy was redirected to someone who matters.

I'm not upset by the turn of events. Today was about honing my instincts and intuition. It was about listening to PTB and seeing through a different lens.

Some days we just have to recognize that today is not the day we were supposed to be at a particular place or do a specific thing. Accepting that takes the disappointment I might have and directs it in a better direction.

Sometimes what the heavens are really telling us is to stop, slow down and pay attention to the people and world around us. That's an investment of time I'm willing to make.