If its meant to be

Foreword : This post is about 2 instances that occurred recently where I found myself marveling at the small wonders that happen around us on a daily basis and how easily they can be overlooked as being insignificant. Even as you read these, the thought might cross your mind as to if I was being a sentimental fool, making a mountain out of a molehill- yes, its certainly possible. What makes a big difference is how you perceive everything that happens around you. Read the epilogue if you so wish.

Episode 1 :
It was a warm and sunny day in Chicago. An outdoorsy day, a lazy Friday before a long weekend. We'd been on the cruise and then it was time for a ride up the Sears tower. My backpack was wearing on me-packed with my camera, charger and the paraphernalia that goes along with an SLR. Somewhere tucked in the backpack was my cell phone. I only used it to check time. I wasn't expecting any phone calls nor planning to make any. We casually strolled over to Sears Tower and stood in the line for tickets. It was a busy, packed day at the ticket booth- obviously a lot of visitors wanted to get up for a view of the windy city before it got chilly. After buying tickets, we moved to another line for the elevator. And then we made it to the 90th floor in under a minute. Whooooooooosh and a pop later we were there.

The view from the dome of Sears tower is spell binding. In every direction- there's miles of industrial development, high-rises, the lakes and a sprawling city. I walked around for a bit and pulled my cell phone out to realize that signal strength was dead. 'I am truly unreachable right now' I thought to myself as I tucked the phone into the side pocket of my shorts. My feet ached, my arms were all but ready to drop off. I decided to sit down, stretch my legs and lean against the wall. Phew! Such a relief. The eye still could feast on the wonderful views without having to tax the limbs.

In a while, my friend's husband walked up and goaded me to get up. I huffed and puffed and got up for another walk around the dome. A photo session happened in one corner of the dome and a few mins later we were ready to head back down. As we stood in the line for the elevator, I felt my pocket was empty and within no time I realized I had lost my cell phone.

While I urged the rest to go on, my friend and I stepped out into the landing and emptied the contents of my backpack. It yielded no cell phone. And as I mentally traced my whereabouts, I remembered distinctly that I had observed I had no cell phone reception up in the deck. So it was definitely misplaced sometime while I was in there. Good, I thought to myself. My friend tried calling the phone, which obviously went to the voicemail given there was no signal. I went back to the place I sat down at and looked around. No luck. I walked around the dome a few times looking to see if I had dropped it anywhere. No luck, again.

A sinking feeling came over me. I had just recently in April dunked my cell phone into the toilet(NOT intentional, mind you) and even though I am not a stickler for fancy iphones like some people (wink wink ;) I don't like the clunky ones that are a dime a dozen but look like a fossil. I had had to sign up a two year contract in order to get a major mail-in rebate on a new phone. Just the thought of the hassle of having to go through it all again was enough to motivate me to walk over to the gift shop adjacent to the tower where I had been seated and ask the lady at the counter if any one had returned a cell phone. "No, ma'am" she said politely and sympathetically. I went around the dome for the 3rd time checking and re-checking. I came back to the store and asked her where people usually gave in lost items. "You might want to check with security down stairs" she replied. I made up my mind to go down and report a lost cell phone and give them my friend's contact details. For one last time, my friend and I went around for a final look. No luck.

As we came to the elevator and stood in line, we saw the lady at the store rush over with another store clerk. The new lady asked "Are you the one looking for a lost phone?". "YES!" I screamed. I walked over with her to the store and she pulled out a cell phone from the desk and said "Is this yours?". I flip open the lid to check if the photo of my friend's baby was there. And it was. I clasped the lady's hand in abject gratitude.

And I couldn't help but wonder, what if there had been even a minute's delay? What if I had not gone around for one last check, instead just had gone down? What a difference a few split seconds can make....

Episode 2:
I am always paranoid about the cap for my camera lens. For all the technological advances that happen in the camera world, I still feel the best feature could be that of making a cord attaching the camera to the lens cap. That way, the chances of misplacing the lid is minimized.

So to justify this paranoia of mine, there are always instances where I panic over a misplaced lens cap. Take Saturday for example. I had to cover an event for my friend's father who was participating in a book review. I chose the corner seat of the last row so I had unbridled access to the aisle. I walked over to the dais a few times taking pictures at strategic moments. Once his talk was over, I walked over to the row where all of us were sitting and continued to listen. A few mins later I realized I did not have the lens cap with me. Ugh, I thought to myself. The program was scheduled to go on for another hour and I didn't want to upset everyone going around in search of the lens cap. But it was beginning to bother me and I wouldn't rest until I found it. I decided to go back to the last row to check. I excused myself and walked over to find the empty seat and no lens cap. As I sat down in the seat trying to plan my next course of action, a man walked over from behind, as he stopped next to me, he put his hand inside his shirt pocket and pulled out the lens cap- "I believe these are yours?" he whispered. "Yes, yes and yes" I managed to squeal back in a whisper. I grabbed his hand and thanked him profusely. Again, I come back to what I said earlier- a few seconds of delay and I probably wouldn't have been able to retrieve the lost item.

Epilogue:
Albert Einstein said "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

I choose to believe in the latter. There are so many miracles that occur as part of the life force around us, that occur inspite of us and NOT because of us. There is always an inexplicably wondrous experience that we fail to stop and marvel at- just because we are so full of ourselves, our wishes and desires and wants. Everywhere around me I was able to sense the warmth, the unifying divinity and grace that comes about in spite of the diversity that exists - be it among the people, places or nature.

'If it's got your name written all over it, just be patient. If it's meant for you, it will come.'

Amen!