The Day I didn’t get a Restraining Order

OK, so my last post was all about how cute my daughters are, with a side note about how we find what we look for.

http://animatingyourlife.com/2013/02/10/life-lessons-from-a-5-year-old/

The flip side is true too.

Four or five years ago I was walking down Bloor Street in Toronto, not paying too much attention to where I was going and a bashed shoulders with some other guy who was going the other way down Bloor Street – also not paying a lot of attention.  Be both mumbled our apologies, our faces about 8 inches apart.  I’m thinking “I know this guy, but from where?” He’s a bit older than me, handsome in a craggy sort of way and I’m trying to place him, schoolteacher, friend of my parents, did I meet him at a party or some other social function.  Three blocks later it hit me…I’d just run into Harrison Ford.

This is good news and bad news.  I’m a HUGE fan, have been ever since I saw Star Wars and Indiana Jones and I love that I’ve connected with him.  The bad news is that I didn’t realize it at the time.  I’m not generally star obsessed, but I will make an exception for Harrison…a BIG exception.

My last post was about how we find what we’re looking for; this post is about how we don’t see what we’re not looking for – until it’s too late.  I missed saying “Hi” to Harrison.  How many other opportunities have I missed over the years because I simply didn’t see them?  The more I work on my own personal growth, the more I see opportunities all around me.  They’re suddenly everywhere I look.  They always were.

I’m becoming more and more convinced that the teacher doesn’t arrive when the student is ready, the teachers are always here, when we’re ready, we finally see them…or stop fighting with them.

I guess it’s probably a good thing I didn’t recognize him at the time, I wouldn’t have a great life lesson, I’d probably have a restraining order…really, I’m a HUGE fan.