magic on sunday: when the universe knocks
last night i found myself alone at a bar, reading this month's fast company, and happy as a clam (i was so happy i even tweeted about it). i'd just returned to the city two hours earlier, stopped at home for just enough time to drop off my bags, change into yoga pants and a jmu sweatshirt, throw my hair up and run around the corner to the nail salon before they closed for the night.
i had vague and tentative plans that never actualized, so with a slight sigh of exhausted relief, i walked out of the nail salon and across the street into my local, "this-is-where-i-eat-alone-and-don't-feel-like-a-loser" joint. it was crowded at the bar, so i asked to place an order to-go, but just as the host was grabbing me a menu, a string of seats opened up at the bar. i plopped up in the middle of the freshly emptied seats and ordered a drink, some food, and pretended to watch whatever sports games were on in between page flips.
a few minutes later, a dude about my age sat to my left, leaving a seat between us. i could that tell this was his go-to spot when he didn't want to feel like a loser too.
there was something really magnetic about his energy, and i could tell, from the bits of conversation that i overhead between him and the bartender, that he was about to go on a trip. i thought he said he was going to morocco, so a few minutes later, maybe out of boredom, i slid my hand in his direction with a, “sorry, did i hear you say you’re going to morocco?”
malaysia, he told me. the way he replied, i knew that there was something more to the story. i pried a little more and he told me that he met someone last month and was going to spend two months with her. it’s a crazy and fantastic story, if not a bit complicated, and that’s the part our conversation really honed in on: the complicated parts of our stories that have ultimately changed our course for better. after about 25 minutes of chatting he asked me if i was finished and if i wanted to take a walk. “sure, let me close out” i replied without hesitation.
we meandered down park slope’s busy 5th avenue, and had it been any other situation, i would have been mortified that i was in public on a saturday night with my hair up, no glasses, and looking like i’d just come from the gym, but this was a fun adventure that felt ordained by the universe so i rolled with it. eleven blocks later, we found ourselves at the chocolate room, an appropriate saturday evening setting for spending with a stranger who you’ve all of a sudden developed a soul connection with.
after decadent hot chocolate, homemade marshmallows, and an hour or more of chatter, we exchanged contact info, i wished him luck on his trip, and we went separate ways. i whipped out my phone and called my friend karen. when she picked up i told her, “i’ve had an interesting night” and before i could even get into the details she said, “i have been thinking about you on and off for the past two hours, i knew something was going on with you.”
when i finally made it home, i recounted all the moments of the night that pointed to this encounter as one that was preordained – my initial plans getting canceled, seats suddenly opening up at the bar, overhearing the exact part of a conversation that would lead to a perfect segue, karen knowing that something was up with me before i even had a chance to give her the evening’s details.
i was ringing with energy, not about this new stranger and our conversation, but at the reminder that sometimes things happen or come our way because they’re supposed to and it's completely without our doing. it felt like such a refreshing reminder that magic happens when you’re usually not planning or looking for it.
my hope for you this week is that you leave some space for the universe to work its magic, and if you feel a nudge, see what happens when you follow its lead.
magic on sunday: 11.27.16 [spotify playlist]
good news - rosemary fairweather
hope - tim legend, brave
more - jess best
jungle - saint mesa
all lost - jack grace
bury me - the skins, d.r.a.m
winner - joe goes hunting
until sunday,
meghan
[magic on sunday archive]