I’m one of those people who believes (most) things happen for a reason. Or reasons. Or, whatever. My point is, I tend toward belief in meaning and purpose far greater than my own little life.
However! I also believe my own little life serves as a cog in the gi-normous wheel of all-that-is. (I believe that about you and your life as well.) And being a simple cog in the greater scheme of things, I assume I play a part in this world. On most days, my part can be pretty small. To be honest here, I rarely even notice my part at all. That’s just life, I suppose. We go through this living thing, rarely knowing if we’ve had any effect. (Or is that just me?)
Last month, I got an oh-so-tiny glimpse into the mechanisms of the world. I was driving to Rock Camp in downtown L.A. I almost made a light, but a big, honkin’ bus got in my way and I snagged the red. Once the light turned green, I cruised through the intersection, only to be caught behind that same slow-moving bus. Channeling Mister for a moment, I floored it around the bus, which was now stuck behind me. I was headed toward a right hand turn along my route, but there was a pedestrian, just entering the crosswalk. I could have kicked it and turned in front of her, but the spirit of Rock Camp led me to be patient, and to let her cross the street safely, without fear of being creamed by an old Volvo. As she hurried across the street, I saw her signal to the bus driver behind me. And as that bus couldn’t proceed – being trapped behind my old car – the driver didn’t really have much choice about waiting for that pedestrian. She made her bus and I made my turn. The choreography was perfect.
If you think I’m reaching here, you may be right. But I don’t believe I am. These sorts of non-events play out around us all the time. We just don’t usually notice, or even get to see the dance of life. I’m not sure why I happened to notice that particular morning’s movements, but I did. And I appreciated it. All of it.
I like believing there are reasons at play in my life. I like feeling that even though my existence is a mere speck in this universe, the speck counts. It makes me happy and it gives me the smilies. And y’all, smilies rule.