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Monday, April 21, 2014

Flying late but on time

The other day I got up a bit earlier than usual to run a bit further than usual. My running partner did not do the same thing so I did not run early. I make it a habit not to run alone when it is dark outside. I was not angry with him. His actions allowed me to get another hour of sleep.

When I headed about .25 miles out for my run I saw a woman walking down the street. I spoke and she timidly asked me if she was going in the right direction to get to the address on her paper. I looked at the paper. Now, I am not from Savannah. I know enough to get me to my office, the mall, Publix, Whole Foods, the park, and a few other places. Of course none of those places were on her paper. I did know that the street she was on would not take her where she wanted to go.

She sighed and said that she got off the bus at the corner and the bus driver did not know where the address was either. She did not have GPS on her phone. So I ran back to the house and got my phone. And as luck would have it I could not get a signal. The woman sadly sighed again so I offered to ask the lady where I stay if she knew where the place was. And of course, I got a signal.

I proudly told the woman that it was only .7 miles away. She sadly whispered that .7 was still a long way to walk. In my head I thought "I run more than that every day". I think she was going to cry. So I offered to drive her to the house. Actually the words came out of my mouth before I even thought about it. And she graciously accepted probably hoping that I was sincere. She kept apologizing for interrupting my run. And I kept saying 'no worries'. I did not even get upset.

At that moment we trusted each other. I could have driven her anywhere. She could have had a gun in her purse. I did not even think about that and I doubt that she did either. We did not speak of God, religion or anything at all. We did not exchange names. We just wished each other a great day.

If I had gone out for my run earlier, I would not have been able to assist the woman. It was a God wink. I was exactly where I was supposed to be in spite of my previous plans. That just made the rest of my day seem so much better. I realized that I am truly blessed and I was allowed to share my blessing with someone else.

Whether or not one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in a rebirth or not, there isn't anyone who doesn't appreciate kindness and compassion.

Dalai Lama

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