"The angels come to visit us..." -George Elliot

“The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.” –George Elliot

My life is filled with angels and I give thanks for them all the time, some of them I can see and some I cannot. Today was noteworthy, as there seemed to be an angel at every turn.

My daughter and I were in family court again. No drama for me I hold an intention of being there INjoy and that is exactly what I manifest. But HOW it manifests itself fills me with awe.

Angel #1
In addition to my daughter being grounded, I have required her to read The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz. She is clear she is not doing well on living any of the four agreements.

1.       Be impeccable with your word.

2.       Don’t take anything personally.

3.       Do NOT make assumptions.

4.       Always do your best.

We are in the waiting area and she has put the book down on the bench next to her as reading the book was “making her head hurt.” A gentleman walks by and says, “That is an excellent book.” I responded, “I know, but tell her as she is upset that I am making her read it.” Siwe lifts her head (the teenage radar has informed her that adults are talking about her), “Huh? What?” The gentleman says to her, “That is an excellent book.” “Uh, yeah, that is what I hear.” Siwe responds. He tells her, “No, it IS an excellent book. Pay attention to the part about gossip.” Siwe: “Wow. Yeah, that is the part I am up to now.” Man: “I know. Well really read it. I am Native American and that is the wisdom of my people.” Siwe excitedly chimes in, “Me too.” “You are Native American?” She nods and smiles her positive response with an “Uh huh.” “Cherokee?” Again Siwe nods and smiles her “Yes.” “Aho” is what I think I heard him say to her. She and I smiled at each other. He turns away and busies himself at the window briefly, then comes closer to speak to Siwe. I move my things and he sits to my right and speaks directly to her. “You my sister must listen to your lessons and take your medicine. In our culture, it is of the utmost honor and respect to listen to the wisdom of our elders, especially our parents. Their medicine is what is best for us. You also have to love yourself and not let other people poison you. The highest love is the love you have for yourself. If you do not love yourself, you cannot have friends, boyfriends, happiness, anything. You have to find your talent. Your voice. Your passion and do it. I think for you it is dance. Yes for you I am sure it is dance.” Siwe hangs her head down. She is a superb dancer and was on a full scholarship at Alvin Ailey but no longer dances. “You have to use your talent and you must finish school. You must. These are a part of your medicines.” Siwe was silent but nodded. He stood up and went back to the window. Siwe put her head back down. I rubbed her back and looked at this angel in human form. He looked at me. With tears in my eyes, I mouthed, “Thank you.” He noded.

It is a large waiting area and in true family court fashion. We are there a while. That angel was not. He was there only to speak to Siwe. And apparently we were only there to hear him. Our case was rescheduled. Siwe believes his name was Gabriel, her angel.

Angel #2

Out of court and hungry we have less than an hour-and-a-half to eat and travel to our next appointment. Siwe decides she wants a Subway, $5 footlong, tuna is her favorite there. We find one not far from where we are. Our server, was a hilarious sing-songy sort of dude. He repeated everything you said with his accent (East Indian I believe) in a song. He even added a word or two for his own entertainment and perhaps ours too. After he moved on to the next customer, he did his sing-songy hero-building routine in Spanish. We giggled. But the guy behind us did not speak Spanish. So my daughter and I translated as we continued to giggle, I am not so sure that this customer was as amused as we were.

We left with our heroes: tuna meal for her and a veggie delight foot-long for me without cheese. As he built my hero he sang, “No cheese! Okayyyy, mommy dieting.” Hilarious. We left there with such light hearts and minds, we considered going back and dining-in so we could continue to listen to his routine and watch the customer responses as well. However, we did not. We did not know what the New York City Manhattan Transit Authority would have in store for us and we did not want to be late.

Angel #3

We are off of the train. And since we have 25 minutes to spare, I opt to purchase a decaffeinated coffee. We decide on Gene’s Coffee Shop on the same block as Siwe's oral surgeon. We step inside. A wide smile greeted us with a hearty, “Hello ladies,” he picked up two menus, “table for two?” “No thank you,” I responded with a warm smile “just a small decaf.” “Milk and sugar?” “No thank you, just black.” I responded. Another gentleman repeated my order to be sure and prepared it. “You want a bag?” “No thank you.” “Ah. Plain and simple. Café sin leche y sin azucar. Puro negro. Bueno. Facil. Bueno.” Siwe and I laugh, I respond, “Es verdad mi amigo, es verdad.” They laugh. As we are leaving we hear the next customer query the cost of the turkey sandwich he ordered: Incredulously, “Nine dollars???” “No, my friend, it is $9 for someone else. It is only $8.50 for you.” What angels in our midst! Simply wonderful.

There was one more angel when I bought Siwe her winter hat. It was a street vendor. Instead of supporting my daughter’s request for the $20 hat he agreed with me that the $10 one looked better.

Then there was the $1 bill I found on the street. I saw it, put my foot on it, told Siwe and she picked it up for me. (Just too many bags in my hands to pick it up.)

I found a $20 bill last week as I exited the parking lot. I was on a charter bus to Manhattan from Kripalu and the bus driver got lost and wound up a few blocks from my home. I asked him if he would pull over to let me out. HE DID. "Ask and ye shall receive."

“The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone.” –George Elliot

The angels are with us all the time. I look for them and am so happy when I find them or they find me. Sometimes we see them. Sometimes we don’t. I hope you see them, seeing them enhances your joy.

INjoy,

dionne