I've been standing here for about 20 minutes or so, enjoying my iced caramel mocha with soy, and watching the goings on in the city streets below.
It's really quite interesting. I'm not sure - no, I know that I don't do this often enough. Intently observe things. Shut off the thoughts and ruminations in my mind and just be in the moment.
I tried to do that last night, when I attempted to take a bubble bath in the jacuzzi tub in our hotel room which we paid a $25 upgrade for at check-in. Hey, when you are star struck (was Elton John staying in the same hotel as us? Right across the street from the Target Center? OF COURSE HE WAS!) and you have valet parking and concierges waiting on you, an upgrade to the executive suite with the jacuzzi tub and beautiful view of the city seems like a no-brainer. We are on a mini-vaca and a nice long, hot bubble bath sounded like a heavenly idea. Unfortunately it didn't translate into the relaxing oasis that I had anticipated it to be.
The lavender smelled wonderful, dim lighting and Jim Brickman set the perfect mood, but I soon realized as I turned on the jets that a very little bit of bubble bath is all you actually need. Or want. Too much is, well...too much and then you have a choice to make. Do you lay your head back and become consumed with bubbles? Or do you sit up and play with them like a toddler? (Did our upgrade come with free tubby toys?) Neither option was very relaxing. Hmmph. Oh well, it was better than NOT having a jacuzzi! I'll do better next time.
My bird friends have decided to abandon their perch on the skywalk across the street and are now congregated on the ledge of one of the buildings and I missed it because I was too busy thinking and typing about last night's bubble bath fiasco.
Let me rewind.
The view from our window overlooks the rooftops and streets of downtown Minneapolis. We are in town to see Elton John perform at the Target Center on his Farewell Tour. It's been on our bucket list to see Elton together. It's the 8th time I've seen him in concert, but Vince's first and it was awesome :) Now, today is our last day here and as we are finishing our packing and getting ready to leave in a couple hours, I find myself at the window.
The first thing that caught my eye and convinced me to slow down and stay awhile was a flock of birds. There were probably 15-20 or so, all flying in unison, round and round above the building across the street. I began to wonder how they stayed in sync like that. There didn't seem to be one leader among them, but they all would flap their wings at the same time, glide at the same time, and gracefully make 180 degree turns, ascending and descending all together. Over and over until they found their perch on the frame of the skywalk connecting the two buildings below us. It was kind of like watching synchronized swimming. Does God direct their behavior? Do they communicate with each other somehow? Interesting. Fascinating, actually.
I see a young woman walking her dog on the sidewalk, then she breaks into a jog and her dog happily trots along. She probably lives in an apartment in the area. Cars went by one by one, all going to different destinations. Some with roofs and hoods covered with snow. Metro Transit buses. An ambulance. Two cars on the roof of the building across the street that have been there at least since the last snow. How long have they been there? Will they get towed? Where are the owners? A lady appeared on the roof, walked back and forth, and then exited the other side. Did she lose her car? What was she looking for? Has anyone ever jumped off that roof? Disturbing, I know, but I think about things like that sometimes.
There were thousands of people at the concert last night. We all came together from various cities and states to go see this musician on this night, and then we all went our separate ways again. Some of us had an awesome evening. Others bought tickets and never made it. Some came with friends and it was one of the best nights of their lives. And for some others, for various reasons, it was the worst.
I left once during the concert to use the bathroom. In the concession area was a woman in a wheelchair being attended to by some paramedics. I thought about stopping and praying with her, but I kept walking. She was being helped and I wanted to get back to the concert. Besides that, one of the paramedics was holding a barf bag...do I really want to get close to someone who was heaving and possibly sick with something contagious? I told myself if she was still there on my way back I would stop. She was, but was now surrounded by several people who were obviously with her, one was hugging her tight from behind. She didn't really need me now. Did I miss an opportunity to bless her?
Jesus would have stopped. He wouldn't have even hesitated.
Ouch.
Hundreds of people stayed in the same hotel as we did. On the very same nights. Many in town for the concert, others for different reasons. We met a boxer in the elevator, he was in town for a boxing match. He was friendly and we chatted for our 30 second elevator ride, and we will never meet again. I helped an older gentleman put his groceries in the trunk of his car at Cub foods, where we stopped last night to pick up some snacks to bring back to our hotel room. On the way back to our car I realized I had forgotten to get bubble bath, so Vince stayed in the car while I walked back toward the store and spotted this man struggling to put his bags in his trunk.
If we had said no to the upgrade I wouldn't have wanted to get bubble bath...I wouldn't have gone back into the store and then wouldn't have been there to assist this nice man with his bags. Someone else might have, or he would have struggled and got it done himself.
Dominoes...
Fast forward several hours. We're at home now, sitting at the kitchen table finishing this blog post and I'm thinking about all the choices we have everyday. All the "chance" encounters of everyday life on this planet full of people and opportunities. We have opportunities every single day to observe and to ponder and to make a difference. Big or small. How many days of my life have I gotten to the end of the night and thought I didn't do anything significant all day long? Maybe I did, but just didn't recognize it as being significant. Maybe I missed it...something the Holy Spirit was prompting me to do but I was too busy or too grossed out or too selfish or too embarrassed to do.
I wonder if Heaven will allow us to review our lives and see all these moments? The chance encounters. The divine ones. The observations. The meanings behind them. It might be heartbreaking, but also could be amazing.
And maybe then God will explain the birds to me.
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