Today I'm wearing purple velour pants that i got from my mother when she died in 2000. I had packed these pants when i went on retreat, because i was leaving the retreat to fly to North Carolina to teach a weekend Spring Clean-Up retreat at Southern Dharma Retreat Center.
While meditating here in the frozen North, i realized i had failed to pack a gardening shirt. Oh shoot, i thought. I'll have to stop at a thrift store in Asheville. I wonder if there's a thrift store in Hot Springs?
A couple of sits later, i remembered: Down in the laundry room, there's a wall of shelves with lost, forgotten, and donated clothing, available for free. During the next period of walking meditation, i headed down to the out-of-the-way laundry room. The selection was much thinner than it used to be. But there was a pale purple long-sleeved cotton shirt with an embossed purple velour leaves on the chest. My color, my size. My "shopping" trip was done. A free shirt! Wow!This unexpected gift of a shirt is an example of what happens when we slow down, take some solitude, and calm our minds. The gifts of Life are all around us. First, we have to notice them. Then we can feel the gift-ness of them and feel deep gratitude for Life's offerings.
That's a compelling anecdote, Cheryl. It imparts a great lesson in life. Also, it's pretty awesome how you ended up with the shirt that you have, though it's time to start wearing another one for spring clean-up. Good luck!
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