Some amazing things happened to me yesterday that made me more aware of how connected we all are and how the karmic flow works. I broke my wrist snowboarding about 5 years ago and ever since then my wrist has been sore and I have been unable to put a lot of weight on it. I was supposed to get surgery in Colorado when my injury first happened but I postponed it until a week ago. Yesterday, I went to the hospital to get my stitches removed and to get a hard cast put on, when I saw a homeless man asking for money at a stop light. I looked in my wallet and only had a dollar in cash; so, I gave it to him along with a packet of tea. He said, “Thank you. God bless you!” and I drove away feeling grateful for the opportunity to give.
When I arrived at my appointment the secretary gave me the option of paying her $2 in cash to get out of the parking garage or paying $4 with my credit card at the gate. I searched through my wallet and could only come up with $1.37. Had I not given away my dollar I would have saved $2 but as I swiped my credit card I thought, “Oh well, maybe it will even out at some point.”
That evening, I went to the grocery store to get a few things and as I was checking out, the guy in front went to swipe his credit card and the cashier said, “sir that’s hers” and he smiled and was said, “that’s ok” and paid for all of my groceries! I felt so overwhelmed with gratitude that it didn’t occur to me until I got in my car that I should have given him a packet of tea or something else in return. I drove back into the parking lot to see if I could catch him before he left but he had disappeared.
It was about 8:30pm and I had a little time to kill before meeting my friends at a bar, so, I sat amongst the exposed roots of a tall tree whose branches were waving widely in the cold wind. I thanked the universe for these opportunities to give and receive and asked to be presented with more opportunities to give and to be of service to humanity.
I turned my head toward the street and saw that several cars had stopped to let a very old woman, hunched over with a cane with 5 bags of groceries, hobble across the street. I ran over to help her. I only had one hand to give but I took her groceries and gave my elbow for support. Her groceries were quite heavy and she could never have made it home without help. Another gentleman who was sitting on his porch in his pajamas smoking a cigarette saw us and came to our assistance as well.
The three of us walked this funny old lady back to her nursing home as she told stories of skiing and ice-skating in Canada. The wind was strong and bitter cold so she had to stop multiple times to blow her noise and regain her balance. When we got to her house she clearly enjoyed my company so much it was hard to leave. I finally escaped leaving with a kiss and packet of tea. I again thanked the universe for this opportunity to be of service.
The rest of the evening, I was presented with several more opportunities to give and help and met some amazing people. I felt so grateful to be able to dance again after several days of excruciating pain in my wrist and a week of almost complete inactivity.
I realized that I usually think of giving and receiving as more of a linear back and forth thing; one person does you a favor so you do them a favor, but it rarely works like that. Giving and receiving happen simultaneously. When you give you receive thanks and when you receive you give gratitude. Both of these actions make you feel connected and more in the flow of life. If you find yourself feeling out of alignment or out of the flow just do a favor for someone, give a compliment, write a sweet letter or give a meaningful gift and you will feel connected again.