Tango With the Universe

There are a number of very productive things that I should be doing at this very moment, but I was just out for a stroll/doing errands, and I encountered a peculiar series of events which I felt was important to discuss.

Those in my intimate circle will know that lately I've been rather lonely. It's a mix of working odd hours, having few close friends in this big city, and hormones. I've felt rather cut off from people in general, even though I'm constantly surrounded by them. Well, I'd run 10k today (actually, I ran 7, and walked 3) so I was feeling really good. I showered, dressed in something presentable, and went out in search of a (used...cheap) wooden frame for a craft project of mine. Here's where it starts.

#1. I see a man looking at a map. I offer directions. Man = happy, and I go on my merry way.

#2. A young asian girl and her mother are visiting the city, and have become lost on their way back to their hotel. It's the Fairmont, so I'm easily able to get them back on trak, and they're thankful not to be lost forever.

#3 While walking in opposit directions, a man stops me on the street to ask if there are "any coffee shops in this city that aren't Starbucks," after asking if I'm a 'local.' I tell him about a little shop around the corner from where we are that's also an art gallery, and that he should check it out. It's in the same direction that we're walking, so I invite him to walk with me to the nect street. He starts to, but stop to put money in his parking meter, and as he does so, he asks if I'd like to go for coffee with him...though he would "understand if I had a boyfriend or something." I gracefully let him down, and proceed to walk home, happy that I'm still pick-up-able.

So how do I interpret these interaction? #1 is me reaching out to a total stranger. #2 is the universe giving back, indicating that you get back what you put into it.

But #3....the coffee pick-up. Evidence that if you deal well with the reverse of what you put into the universe, that you'll get rewarded? Maybe. A nudge towards continuing to remember that people won't care to reach out to you if you don't put the effort into opening yourself up?

Or they're all coincidences. It doesn't matter. I like thinking that I started something my approaching someone else. I like thinking that there's hope for the lonely, so long as you remember to keep yourself open.