Tonight I dropped off my neice at home and my son decided to stay and visit, then had to get fuel in the car, drop off an extra cheque to the post office as they had forgot to include one of my packages in my shipping payment .. then stopped to drop off a package to a friend and ended up chatting for a bit .... finally enroute home an hour after I normally would have been snuggled in on what for us has been a very, very cold day. Happy to be getting home and ready for a much needed cup of tea .. I approached the gate to our dock with my usual load of bags of groceries and clean laundry while fumbling for the key to unlock the gate. At the gate I noticed something on the ground .. then realized it was a person!
It took a second for me to register what I was seeing .. and unsure if the still body was even alive.
It was one of my elderly neighbours - he had fallen, tripped ... we are not sure .. but he was on the ground on his back in the cold dark and I could see no-one else around to help. I called 911 and then pulled out my clean laundry which conveniently consisted of two large duvet covers and put one under his head and covered him to keep him warm with the other. Once I knew help was on the way and he was speaking and understanding me, I ran to get his wife. I stayed with him for over 1/2 hour before help arrived. No-one knows how long he had been there... he didn't think he had been there long. Once in the ambulance I could see that he had been bleeding from the head and am glad that I didn't move him but had called for emergency help just to be safe.
Most of the other neighbours seem to have already been home by the time the ambulance departed and I made my way down the dock to my boat.
It made me question Life's Timing.
What if I hadn't stopped for gas or had needed to go to the post office .. or chatted with my friend for a little while... then I probably would have already been home like everyone else and been totally oblivious to the situation. How long would he have remained there motionless on the ground? If he hadn't been found when he was would his situation have deteriorated in the cold temperature ? How was it that I happened to have those two large duvet covers in my possession considering they had been sitting in the laundry pile to do for over 2 weeks.
I thought as I was driving home that I would have some free time to myself while my son was visiting his cousin .. but instead spent the evening helping a neighbour .. and wouldn't have had it any other way. What is it in Life that puts us in places or circumstances just at certain moments that seem so significant?
Just as the ambulance pulled away and I watched to make sure his wife was fine pulling off in her car ... I went below and closed up my boat and at that moment the rain started pelting down. It had been raining for a good part of the day ... icy needles driven by a relentless wind .. as it is again now, but I realized in retrospect that he couldn't have been there long as he was dry when I found him .. and the whole time I stayed with him until the time he left was over an hour .. yet not a drop of rain during that time!
How does Life time those kind of mini miracles? It sure does make one think .. and if it doesn't make a believer out of a person .. then it at least should make one realize that Life is a lot more in control of our destiny that we understand.
There is a purpose to our existence .... for the most part we stumble through Life totally oblivious to that purpose .. or even questioning why and what it is all about. BUT .. when you have one of those coincidental, unbelievable, Life's Timing moments .... it makes you realize and appreciate that it is not for us to question .. only to Be. Our existence may be for something as simple as holding the hand of a fallen neighbour, encouraging a child who had a bad day, hugging a retiree that you haven't seen in many years and giving them the gift of human contact, giving directions to a stranger who seems lost, smiling at a homeless person to acknowledge his existence thus giving him a sense of being.
This is often called the Season of Giving.
Giving doesn't have to be wrapped in sparkly paper or coins in a donation box.
Giving can be as simple as a smile, a hug, a listening ear, a word of encouragement.
Giving of yourself is the most generous gift of all.
If you are in sync with Life's Timing .. you come to realize that there are opportunities for Giving in every day moments.
I feel fortunate that I was able to be there for my neighbour. It wasn't my doing .. it was Life's Timing .. but it was an opportunity to give of myself unconditionally. That was my CPM for today. Being presented with a situation that awakened my sense of being and purpose.
I wish for you moments of clarity that help you realize you have a purpose for being.
I wish for you an opportunity to experience Life's Timing.
I wish for you a chance to offer a CPM to someone else so you may experience the Gift of Giving.
CPM to you. May you all stay safe and warm this season.
:) sun
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