The air is perfect.
A pleasantly dry day in mid August. Temps in the 70’s beginning to cool down for the night.
A hint of a breeze as the sun begins to settle towards the West.
Friday evening. Quarter to 7.
I head out for a walk. Not sure where I want to eat. But open to something special in order to celebrate just being alive. Celebrating having done a good days work helping clients with their personal healing and mastery. Celebrating being happy being me. Bursting with love and creativity. Treasuring the richness of the moment.
The light. Sharper and more intense as I walk through Washington Park. Children screeching and giggling on the playground, young lovers walking arm in arm and gazing deep into each others eyes on park benches… Joggers panting by… young mothers pushing strollers… a kamikaze skateboarder…
Past the fountain.
Wandering out of the park and then down Lark Street…. to Central…. then right on Dove. Wandering all this time… deeply amused, amazed and grateful for the world and all the other passersby.
Catching snatches of conversations.
Noticing a cat sleeping in the window of an apartment.
A young woman walking her dog in her pajamas.
People hanging out on their front stoops.
People parking their cars.
People smoking cigarettes.
Couples out on dates.
The street lights come on.
And there it is. A little gem of an Italian restaurant on a quiet corner with outdoor tables…
No second thoughts. A place to celebrate the most perfect summer day.
I sit down and notice that the sun was illuminating a tall building behind the lower brownstones across Dove St.
I take a picture
I order.
I watch.
I listen.
I notice tiny little details about the table cloth.
A group of young women come out of the white building squeezed by the flanking brownstones across the street. They linger saying their goodbyes for the evening. One of them dons goggles and a helmet and climbs on to her red Vespa… she heads one way and the others wave off in the other direction…
I take a picture.
My appetizer comes.
I take small bites of the mozzarella and tomatoes flavored with basil and olive oil… savoring the subtleties of tastes and textures.
And the light changes
The Tortellini soup arrives.
Like the day. At the perfect temperature.
An older couple sits down at one of the other outdoor tables.
I take another picture
My salad arrives.
A woman in her 40’s joins the older couple. From the conversation, she is the daughter of the gentleman.
He takes a cell phone call about borrowing someone’s hedge trimmers.
I take a picture.
My main course arrives.
I take one…
more…
picture.
and night settles quietly over Albany NY…
I have no date.
And yet I am in no way lonely.
I could easily enjoyed having someone to share this moment with but then again, if I had been with someone, I might never have stumbled upon this place. Because we would have probably decided prior to meeting where we would go. But here I am literally wandering through the streets paying attention to the light and the colors and the textures. There was no place I had to be. No particular agenda or style of food I was looking for. I was wandering through the world in the present moment open to whatever the Spirit of the evening nudged my way.
It is magical for me. This is part of what learning to love your self is all about. Learning to love what is in your life right now. In this very moment.
This is perhaps one of the most romantic dates I’ve ever been on. With myself. Laughing out loud… “I MUST be THE ONE!”
Your Turn: Take a moment right now and look around the room or wherever you are. notice something magnificent. It could be you looking at your hand. It could be noticing the sound of the evening crickets outside… or the distant flash of a jet plane catching the sun… or the next breath.
The evening for me was a sweet celebration of the fleeting sacred moments of our lives. What is sweet in your life right now. Right here. Exactly where you are?
Key To Cowabungah! – Pay attention to the present moment with an attitude of appreciation and wonder. You never know what might make it’s appearance. Bottom line is it feels plain good.
NLP Action Tool – Installing a Resource Anchor: When you are feeling exquisitely good, go ahead and anchor that feeling by squeezing and holding your ear lobe. Then release. The next time you want to get back to that good feeling you can fire the anchor. Whenever you are feeling exquisitely good, reinforce the positive resource anchor by squeezing the same place on the same ear. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat… Click here for more on: How To Set An NLP Resource Anchor
P.S. If you have any thoughts or questions or subjects you would like me to reflect upon in future videos, click the button below and contact me today.
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