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Being aware of your surroundings is a big part of being present, being in the moment. I try to focus on being present as much as possible. I think that too often we end up in auto pilot mode and we can miss out on the here and now. 

I love taking drives, seeing new places and destinations. But sometimes you see the most interesting things when you aren’t really looking. 

Not long ago m, as I was headed to work, there was some construction on 9th Street, at the Art Museum. So I detoured from my regular (auto pilot) path. Here is what I saw...

1 As I rerouted my journey, I was following the herd of morning auto commuters when I slowed to a stop. I was on a one way street, and parked next to me was a hurst. Not something you see parked, nowhere near a funeral home, in a small town. But wait, this old hurst had writing on it, and it looked like... closer scrutiny... someone’s personal ride! I looked for a driver or any one near the vehicle.There was no one. I felt a bit creeped out that someone “wanted” to hang out in a hurst. The light turned green... I moved on!

2 It was a lovely warm morning, my windows were down and my play list was turned way up.  “Cradle of Love” by Billy Idol (1990) was playing. As I came to another stop light I turned my volume down slightly, because I do realize that everyone else waiting on the light may not want to enjoy my play list with me. But wait... Someone else was listening to the same song! What are the odds? Different spot in the song but same song. So funny!

3 As I pulled slowed to the next street light, I saw a sight I had never seen before. (Big City or small town... I may just be a sheltered woman, or maybe it’s because I’m not Catholic but this sight was new and slightly disturbing to me. It’s not like I have EVER seen it before, because I haven’t.) There were three nuns, in full, head to toe, habits, walking across the street. One after the other, in a row. When they stepped up onto the sidewalk, they each went in a different direction. I wanted to just watch, or maybe not, I’m sure this could be the start of a zombie event if let to get out of hand. The street light change and I moved on.

4 My path was back on track, I was on a two lane country road with lots of other vehicles. Lots of traffic, but the area is lovely, woods on both sides of the road. I try to keep a safe distance behind the driver in front of me so I can see my surroundings, safety first and all that. But as the semi-truck up ahead hit his breaks and it of course had a ripple effect back to me, I was now directly behind the guy in front of me. Please keep in mind that this is the tree enclosed road where I have encountered a road raged fox, I have been dive bombed my an owl and you constantly need to watch for road kill as you commute with all the rest of the two lane traffic. So as I was doing my best to be aware, out of the woods run 4 High School track stars. All with the same hair cuts. How do I know this? Because I was doing my best to not be aware that all four boys had only guy shoes and the same boxer length shots on... and nothing else. So eyes to the road I realized that the guy in front of me had also been surprised by this impromptu  track event that had hopped out of the trees. But then as I witnessed, in my rear view mirror, the lady in the car behind me was caught off guard, swerving wildly as she gained her wits. 

Oh my, the things you see as you work to be in the moment! 1 2 3 4