Change

Blogger changed its format.  I rebelled.  Quit writing.  It seemed/seems stark and unfamiliar.  Unfortunately for me, even when my normal is outdated and no longer functional, I still tend to stick with it.  I'm a creature of habit and the known.  Change is daunting.  New is not my thing....except when it is.


There is another kind of change, though, that I do welcome wholeheartedly.  It's this kind...

You see, I find money.  I find money frequently.  And I have for a long time now.  I'm not sure why...perhaps it's because I'm looking?  Perhaps it's because there are a few people who know I find money, and maybe they run around in front of me all the time emptying the change from their pockets?  Perhaps it's because there are souls in the great beyond that don't want me to forget them and they sprinkle my way with Abraham Lincolns as their personal galactic calling card?

I'm really not sure.  I am sure, however, that I'm reluctant to talk about this fact of my life.  I'm afraid if I call attention to it, it will stop happening.  But I believe, today, that kind of thinking is outdated.  There is no reason to believe that pennies will quit throwing themselves into the path of my oncoming feet.  They've been there for so long now.  Why would they just quit showing up?

I love the money I find...this was my latest.

One of my friends said, "This doesn't make cents."

Sometimes they try to blend into their surroundings.  This one above was almost missed.  I had just walked this way not ten minutes before, then on the way back down the street, there it was.


I have found money on my way into big girl business ventures, just outside the doorway of my future.   I even found a penny in the middle of the LA Marathon.  I have found money right outside my car door on way more than one occasion.  


I find money in the weirdest places...out in the middle of my country road runs.  And even on trails....

This one above I found in the middle of a five-mile hike...just right there in the middle of the trail.  I'm sure it's possible, but oftentimes it seems not plausible.  I once found four pennies in four different locations on a four-mile run.  I never know where I'm going when I start out on a run, so I'm always surprised when I find money...it's not like I plan my runs for high-pedestrian traffic ways, and therefore high likelihood of finding loose change.  I'm usually running in the middle of nowhere....

Like this one above.  I found it just three weeks ago.  For the first time in years, I visited my hometown.  I needed me some mama time.  While there, I decided to sneak out for a run.  I hadn't been much of a runner when I lived in that town.  I don't have designated routes, and even if I had, the whole place has grown and changed so much, that they'd likely be covered over with Wal-Marts by now.  

My hometown is set up on a grid system, so it's fairly easy to keep track of where you are.  Except when it's not.  To be honest, I kind of got lost out there.  Some streets didn't go through.  Some roads seemed a little wicked to be on alone.  So there I was, out in the middle of the desert.  I'd forgotten how windy it could be out there.  Wind from every direction.  Wind so loud I could not hear the music blasting from my earbuds.  Wind so strong I could tell my legs were moving, but I didn't feel like I was making any progress.  

Then I stumbled upon the penny above.  Just out there by itself.  Minding its own business.  Not a building, not a car, not a sidewalk in sight.  Out in the middle of stinking nowhere.  

When that happens, it feels like the Universe is spurring me on.  It feels like I'm being assured that I'm on the right path, that I took the right route.  It feels like I'm getting a pep talk, like there's someone there saying, "I know you feel like you can't go on, but you can."  Or maybe, "I know you're tired, but keep moving this way."  Or maybe even, "Surprise!  I'm still looking out for you even though you think I've forgotten you."

I have this ritual that I practice every time I find money.  I say a prayer of thanks.  I thank the Universe for all the unexpected treasures in my life, for abundance, for the element of surprise and for reminding me that my greatest gifts come in really small packages.  It's my reminder to be grateful.  It's my reminder of mystery.  It's my reminder that the miracles of this life keep on appearing...

...over and over again.  If I'm willing to see them.  

***EDIT***

So this very morning (March 11), the next day after posting this entry, I went out my door in the misty rain for a little run.  A mere half a mile into my run....just there, in the middle of the road I found this. 

Haha!  


Signed, 
Happy Me