365 Inspirations—294: FOG

“Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form itself on the edge of consciousness.”—Raymond Chadler 

The weather after my late night classes at the college was fitting to my mood. It's a Freddy Krueger kind of night out there in Seattle and I kind of understand now why this area is the perfect backdrop for vampire movies. I told my volunteer, after my class was over, that I had to go the bathroom, so he said good-bye and left. Usually we walk together to the parking lot.

I was the LAST one leaving the dark campus and just moments before my last class a teacher warned me that there have been instances of a few students getting jumped by someone at night.

I didn't pay the teacher much mind as I scurried to get ready for my class, but his words came back to me after class as I exited the building all alone into the thick fog. I had to walk about five minutes to my car. Everyone was gone from the parking lot except a figure, a person, standing there by himself. I could just barely make out his form in the fog.

My mind started racing as I thought of what I would do in case this person was 'the jumper.'

The figure was now walking fast in my direction and there was noone else in sight.

My heart pounded in my throat. I grabbed the glass bottle of water from my backpack and held it in my hand like a miniature baseball bat and practiced a few swings.

I looked behind me to see if anyone else was around.

Noone.

The figure was now between me and my car.

How on earth would I get to my car? I thought.

Just then I heard my name.

"Kathy, it's me! I just came over to make sure you made it to your car safely."

I let out a huge sigh of relief. It was my volunteer. He waited to make sure I wasn't the last one out of the parking lot. It was such a nice gesture!

Note to self: Do not walk to parking lot alone at night. Always walk with a friend or volunteer.

I know I probably just spooked myself and since Halloween is just around the corner, this is my scary story.

On the way home, I was actually inspired by the mystery of fog. We have a choice of what we imagine lurks beyond the fog. Driving home it felt like there was no past or future, because all I could see was an inch in front of my car. I was okay with being in the present finally.

Do you have much fog where you live? How do you feel about it?

365 Inspirations—53: Nowhere Boy (John Lennon)

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance."—John Lennon


John Lennon has always been an inspiration to me, but I did not know his early life story and how he got started in music. His early life was a tumultuous one and you can easily see how it inspired much of his music.

Young Lennon was raised by his aunt Mimi and his uncle George. His father left the family when John was only four years old. His mother was not prepared to take care of John on her own, so he was raised by his aunt and uncle.

While he was growing up, he learned, through a cousin, that his mother lived in the same neighborhood. She had remarried and had two daughters. When he showed up unexpectedly at her doorstep, his mother welcomed him and they spent a beautiful time getting to know each other. However, he was still troubled by the fact that his parents had abandoned him. He later learned that his mother had had an affair and a daughter while still married to Lennon's father.

The young John Lennon obviously and rightly had much angst over his early childhood situation, but finally came to the conclusion that "there's no point hating someone you love."

When he was kicked out of high school, his mother took him in and taught him how to play the banjo. She was an influence on his early interest in music and was there for many of his early musical performances.

Just as he was getting to know his mother for the first time, she was hit by a car and died.

By this time, John had formed a band and threw himself completely into his music and became a legend.

I was touched by this movie. It was a good Friday afternoon video rental. It made me realize how our lives are often shaped by our very early experiences. Interestingly, we often don't really know the early life stories of many well-known artists.

Often we just see the success of certain people and don't realize what they went through to get to where they are now. John Lennon will always be remembered for his music and his lyrics. He touched millions of people, but he also had to live through quite a bit of pain in his life.

I highly recommend Nowhere Boy. It was an excellent rental. My husband loves to browse the library for good movie rentals and always comes home with a nice little stack of movies. It's one of his greatest joys.

Do you like to watch movies at home? Have you seen any good ones lately?

365 Inspirations—36: Keys Locked in My Car

"Mistakes are portals of discovery."—James Joyce

I know what you are thinking. You're thinking, Can locking your keys in the car be an inspiration? Well, last night that little incident was my inspiration because it taught me a few things. I finished my class at the college at 9:40pm. It was a good class, but afterwards,  I just wanted to get in my car and head home. Sometimes, after I finish teaching a large class, I'm wound up from the energy and need to "come down" and change the music on the "track," if you know what I mean.

I stopped off at my favorite grocery store and decided to buy myself a Kombucha and some fresh fruit. I called my husband to see if he bought eggs since we were out. He did because he's good that way. I was happy to have my own time and wandered around looking at this and that. I was slowly winding down as I meandered through the aisles. The grocery store I  go to is HUGE and full of all sorts of organic and international foods. They have EVERYTHING! I love it. It smells so wholesome in there and everything looks so fresh.

I made my way to check out with some grapefruit, bananas, oranges and a healthy drink in my basket. I purchased everything and then headed for my car. I felt around for my keys and realized I didn't have them. I went back into the store and inquired about them. No one had seen them.

I called my husband, but was pretty calm. I just said, "I think I locked my keys in my car. Can you come get me. I'm not sure what else I can do." He said, "Okay, I'll be right there."

I knew the situation wasn't good as I only have one key to my car and I haven't renewed my AAA membership, so roadside service wasn't an option. I didn't want to leave my car in the parking lot all night with the keys in it. After all, I had recently had my car broken into.

Just then I felt this calm wash over me. I know it sounds strange, but I knew that somehow it would work out. I walked over to my car again knowing that the keys were inside and just stood there in silence for a moment. Then I walked behind my car to the back left door. For some odd reason, I had left that one particular door unlocked! I opened it, climbed into my car and found my keys in the front seat.

I called my husband and told him he didn't need to come. Right away I knew why this happened and what I needed to learn from it because this is what I felt before I found my keys:

1. I heard the words, "Slow down. Pay attention!" I knew I needed to heed these words right away. This was my lesson.

2. The second thing I knew for sure was that this was just a warning. I knew things would work out. I had no idea how it would happen, but I felt I'd drive home that evening.

As soon as I came back to myself and the present moment, I knew what I had to do. Most of the time, I do things from the inside out, but teaching ESL is a very extroverted job. I occasionally get lost in thought after class. This particular night, I still felt the class whirling around in my head on my drive home.

The situation of  having my keys locked in my car reminded me that it's important to SLOW DOWN and take the time to transition from one thing to the next. It was also an opportunity to handle the situation one moment at a time, rather than in a state of confusion or panic. As soon as I did this, everything worked out just fine.

I'm happy for that little incident today. It was my inspiration, believe it or not!

Have you ever had something unfortunate or unexpected happen that turned out to be a lesson or a blessing in disguise?