I live near the beach in Mexico, and most mornings I'll walk the 400 yards or so down to the water to let the dog run around and swim after his tennis ball. For him, it's entertainment, but for me it usually becomes a walking meditation of sorts. That's especially true now, during the non-windy season (it's a kiteboarding destination), when a sweet silence takes over the neighborhood and the soundscape is mostly birdsong, gentle waves and the occasional shouts or hammering of a construction crew.
I say "meditation of sorts," because sometimes what starts out as my witnessing the moment -- feet moving over sand, dog trotting ahead, breath in and out -- ends up being me all up in my head, litigating reality with my ego. Such was the case today.
On the way back, my mind slipped out of the moment and into an imagined future conversation with my guru over some aspect of the Path. I was formulating a complaint, or maybe working up a clever rejoinder to what I expected him to say in response, and all the while chastising myself for being neurotic and dense and throwing way too many words at a nonexistent "problem" ... when suddenly I was interrupted by a voice.
"I love you."
What? I looked over my shoulder and up a small hill to a house still under construction. Standing at the perimeter wall was one of the laborers, grinning at me. Was he bravely trying out a phrase in English? Was it a catcall? (I've generally aged out of the target market for those.) I smiled and waved up at him, said "Buenos dias," and returned to my walk.
Such a funny, random occurrence ... but it snapped me right out of the feedback loop that had been running in my head, and that was beautiful. As I walked back up the path to my home, I completely forgot what I had been thinking about. I could only contemplate, "Who said that? Why in that moment? What inspired him? Was there some 'higher' message?"
The more you attune yourself to the idea that you are but one aspect of the universe expressing itself, just one "finger" in Life's glove, so to speak, the more you begin to experience other aspects of your Self everywhere. Everything is part of the whole, connected by the Vibrational Web in its infinite intelligence. So in a sense, that worker was me, reminding myself to stay present. In another, you might say it was my guru, responding to me "remotely." You might even call it God, poking a little fun at me for taking myself too seriously.
Although I probably will continue to marvel at that simple event, and wonder "why," the "why" of it is actually unimportant. (In fact, wondering about it at all takes me out of this moment, which is all there ever is.) Someone said something, and it changed my experience. That is all. I relate it to you here because it was just one more example of the fact that our presence in every moment is wholly essential to the marvelous mystery that is always unfolding. Such synchronicities need do nothing more than remind us of our creative connection to all that is, so that we may express our gratitude. ~Rishika