I had just finished a 90-minute hike with a new friend at a local reservoir.
It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day, the trajectory of which shifted when I heard a thunk. For a moment, I was unsure of what caused the sound until I remembered my phone, which was now at the bottom of a composting toilet.
I’m not one to carry my phone on a hike, but with a car filled with computers and such in a busy park, I decided to lock the Tesla.
After 90 minutes of companionship, conversation and nature, I was no longer aware of having slipped the phone into the waistband of my leggings. Oops!
No phone.
And without my phone, no access to my car.
Feeling grateful for my big hat and shades, I began to scan for someone approachable who might assist me.
A local man caught my attention, and I asked, Would you please help me? I’m really not sure what I need. This is my situation…
He was warm and kind and wanted to fix the situation by finding a way to retrieve my phone. Ummm… No.
Meanwhile, I’m wondering how to reach all the people I have meetings and sessions with when I don’t know their numbers without my phone. Yet, I do remember the phone number of the salon I went to in 7th grade…
Watching him get blasted by the sun and remembering that he needed to get to work, I thanked him, feeling truly grateful.
I walked over to the water to clear and reset. When I turned around, I met a young woman studying for her nursing exams.
After confirming that I wasn’t completely crazy, she agreed to let me use her phone.
I called my daughter, who (thankfully) insisted I learn her number a few years ago. She was out walking her dogs. I remembered that M still has an 800 number that rings to his phone, but I also know that his phone lives in airplane mode when he is at the studio…
Having already been told by the local taxi company that they didn’t have any time today. I mean, have you ever called a taxi company that can’t come and get you at all that day? Not me.
I let it go and thought, who could I locate online that might answer an unknown call?
Ahh! My realtor. She answered and promptly texted M, letting him know that I was okay and needed assistance.
I continued to chat with the nursing student angel, hoping M would respond. Crickets.
Eventually, through a series of synchronicities and support, she dropped me off in a local town for my manicure appointment.
I walked in hot and sweaty two minutes before the hour and asked to use a cell phone.
Within minutes, M had an intuition to turn on his phone.Thirty minutes later, I was picked up with a big hug and zero complaints. We laughed and sang on the car ride to the reservoir, where he was able to open the car with his app. After getting back into my car, I arrived at my next appointment just two minutes late.
Here’s the deal:
There were hiccups and plot twists, and I got to remember what it feels like to be dehydrated (yuck!).
Yet there was always flow, although not in the way I expected.
I made every single appointment and all commitments were kept.
And throughout the day, people would ask me, Why aren’t you more panicked and upset?
Because there really wasn’t anything to be upset about. Being in a state of panic would have taken me out of flow and made the day that much harder. That I know for sure.
Fortunately, I don’t have to choose between buying food or a phone. And I made every single appointment on time, in my sweaty hiking clothes.
Have I consciously invested in rewiring my nervous system to not be highly reactive? Absolutely. Watching myself and others’ responses reminded me of this. Viscerally.
And yes, we all like to see the fruits of our energetic and emotional labor.
I continue to receive the benefits of this day, including continued conversations with the young woman who drove me into town.
And the expression of true love — a man who cares for me so deeply and knows me so well that he was willing to take on Verizon and replace my phone without me needing to do a thing.
Loving someone who knows your love language is a really glorious thing!
Love + Magic,
Amber