For this Sunday, June 27th, the focus for our meditation will be on Unexpectedness. The community where I live recently opened a fine dining restaurant with a French cooking suite where you can sit at the counter and watch the chefs prepare meals. It has become the highlight of my week to go there, sit by myself, and take in the incredible work of the restaurant staff. To me it resembles a choreographed ballet as they finely coordinate the timing of preparing food and plating dishes. Last night as I was waiting for my order another woman was placed at the counter to my left. She sat down, turned to me and said, “Oh, good, someone to chat with!” My heart sank. I am not into small talk, I am still learning how to be sociable again after so many months of isolation during the pandemic, and the very last thing I wanted to do was to have my evening ruined by someone who appeared ready to talk my ear off. I smiled weakly and managed to escape too much conversation by avoiding direct eye contact. A few minutes later another woman was seated to my right. Double jeopardy. Fortunately, after we made an initial greeting, I glanced over and saw she had taken out a magazine to read. Salvation! As I neared the end of my main course the first woman had finished her meal and left, so it was just two of us sitting at the counter. We both were waiting for the next course, and I noticed she had set aside her magazine. By that time, I had begun to relax, so I decided to turn and say something to her. That led to us introducing ourselves, and to our amusement we quickly realized we had met multiple times before, but neither one of us recognized the other without a mask. To our surprise, we began a most delightful conversation that continued through the remainder of the meal and led to interest in meeting up again at the counter for a future meal and discussion. On my way home I was struck by the Unexpected encounter. If you had told me ahead of time I would enjoy sitting there chatting with someone I barely knew I would have rejected the thought. What I realized was that by allowing myself to be more open it let something Unexpected occur. It made me wonder how many other times I may have missed an opportunity for a positive experience by prejudging the outcome and not being willing to engage. While I’m still unlikely to become a social butterfly, I am going to remain open to the possibility of letting the Unexpected happen when I am with others, and I would encourage you to do the same. This week in our prayer and meditation time let us consider if there are times when we want to be more receptive to the Unexpected in our life. Let us ask for assistance in not being closed off to the possibility of experiencing something new and find ourselves instead delighted by the Unexpected.
In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this nation. As we perform our meditation this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light we create. Just as before, begin by forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible to look directly at it. Raise this sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of our country. From shore to shore and border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country and the people who live across its vast lands.
Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.
Ask yourself what do I feel in my body when I have experienced something Unexpected that turned out to be more positive than I would have thought? How does it feel in my body when I am intentionally open to the Unexpected in my life? Then send the energy and intention of those feelings to the nation.
Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.
If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share please
let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com
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