Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Perception is Everything

I'll never forget that evening. It was several years ago. The warm summer evening was just right for a festive night out to a new Mexican restaurant.
We pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the restaurant, hoping for a spot. We were right on time for our reservations for a party of five - a gala evening of celebration with my husband, Mike, whose parents were visiting from out of town.
The restaurant parking lot was full, but luckily we found a spot quite near the entrance. We swung into our spot and right in front of our car was a sign that said "PARKING - El Ranchito Restaurant" in bright red letters. We counted our lucky stars, said thank you to the Universe for reserving the perfect spot for us and left hurriedly to enjoy our meal.




By the time we had finished our sumptuous dinner and made our way back to the car, the sun had long since gone down and the stars were twinkling through the clear evening sky. We settled into our car, the engine roared to life and Mike turned on the headlights. They shown brightly now on the sign six feet in front of us. There, clearly printed in red was "NO PARKING - El Ranchito Restaurant." With the engine idling, we both literally stared and stared at that sign, taking in what we had experienced.
How had we both missed the word "NO" so clearly printed on the sign? How had our perceptions altered in such a way as to enable us to see what we wanted to see? Was there actually a shift in reality to allow us to park there?





We would have had to drive around quite awhile to find another spot as all the rest were taken. I believe the Universe knew we were safe in parking there and allowed us to do so.
Could it be that we're all held in Divine arms, even for something as small as a parking space? ;-)