The Secret - When You Walk Can On Water, Take The Boat (Part 3)

“One of your problems, John, is that you hurry too much. Yesterday in the parking lot, you were in a rush. Today at lunch, you’re in a hurry again. Take some time to enjoy life. Everyone has the same measure of time, you know. Twentyfour hours a day. It’s what you do with your time that’s im- portant.”

I really didn’t think I needed to be preached to today, but I wanted to be as polite as possible. “It’s easy for you to say,” I replied, “I have responsibilities, you know. A business to run—things to do. Sometimes the burden of it all gets to me.”

“Only if you let it. And everyone has responsibilities.

Do you know that the word responsibility could mean ‘ability to respond’? Do you have a business to run or do you have a business that runs you?”

For someone I was meeting for only the second time, he certainly had a lot of opinions about me. A good philo- sophical discussion, however, always brightens my day and besides, there was some truth in what he had said.“You seem to have things nice and easy,” I quipped. “Where do you work and what do you do, anyway?”

A strange look came over those dark eyes. “Actually I’m a trouble shooter,” he said, “a jack-of-all-trades, if you will. What you’d probably call a consultant for my company, if you know what I mean.”

“And your company?”

“It’s called G & M Enterprises, Inc. It’s not the car company. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.”

“Can’t say that I have. Is it a large corporation?”

“To a certain extent—very diverse—in many countries. World headquarters inthe BigCity with branch offices throughout the country.”

“What do they make or do?”

“Somewhat of a service company, more or less.”

Sensing his reluctance to offer more information and not wanting to be rude I asked, “Are you on vacation now?”

“No. Actually, I’m on assignment. I’ll be in this area for a little while.”

“Do you live around here?”

“Not really. Just passing through. After completion of my current assignment, I’ll be on the road again.”

“Well, I hope they give you a better car,” I said with a laugh, remembering his problems of the evening before.

He smiled, and changed the conversation back to my work. “So things aren’t going too well with your business?”he asked.

“We’ve been struggling for a long time, a real long time, Gideon. There are times when we think we see light at the end of the tunnel, but more often than not it’s a freight train. It’s tough.” I was surprised to find myself speaking this way to a stranger. I normally don’t share my problems with those who aren’t close to me, but somehow this time seemed different.

“Why struggle? A seasoned swimmer does not struggle against the water. He flows with it, using it as a means of reaching his goal. Don’t struggle, just follow the flow. Let the river of life carry you.”

The restaurant was mostly empty now.In between our conversation we'd managed to finish our brief lunch. Only two tables across from us were occupied. I glanced at my watch. It was time to go. But my strange friend wasn’t ready to leave. He gave me the impression that he wanted to tell me something. Again, I had that sense of foreboding—not quite foreboding, but almost like I was getting involved in things for which I wasn’t ready nor prepared. I paid the bill and he of- fered to pay his share, but I refused. He thanked me and got up.

“Do you have a business card?” I asked. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a card and handed it to me. “Thank you. I must say good-bye now and get back to that crazy job I have,” I said.

“Be grateful that you have a job to go to,” he replied. We walked to the door and went outside.I hoped he wasn’t setting me up for something. I’m somewhat of a pushover when I like someone and I was beginning to take a liking to this stranger.

As we said good-bye I told him I hoped we'd meet again soon. He nodded and said, “Who knows? It really is a small world.” He turned, waved and left.

I walked back toward my office. All during lunch I felt an aura of kindness and, strangely enough, power around Gideon. Now back in the sunlight, theapparent mystery seemed to vanish.

The afternoon passed smoothly without as many difficulties as the morning. Several times I glanced through the window into the parking lot where I'd first seen Gideon. Perhaps, we’d meet again.

There was going to be a little dinner party at my house this evening. Just a few friends and neighbors getting together to enjoy each other’s company. It was beginning to get dark. Possibly a storm was on the way, I thought. You never can tell with the weather these days. I decided to leave early to reach home before the rain came.

I was about to pull into my driveway when all the driveway lights went out.I thought,perhaps,the impending storm had something to do with it. Then the storm broke. Such fury of wind and rain I’ve rarely seen. The rain was a sheet of white water alternating with the reflection of brilliant flashes of lightning. The blasts of thunder reminded me of the legends of the gods on Mount Olympus hurling thunderbolts at their ene- mies. I could hardly see as I drove up the driveway and, since the electricity was out,I couldn't open the garage door either. After parking the car, I rushedinto the house,getting drenched in the few seconds it took me to do so.

All was dark inside except for the areas lit by the few candles Mardai had found. Our dinner guests arrived and we made the best of a poor situation. We ate by candlelight and marveled at the many faces of nature. “It seems really strange to me, John,” one of the guests remarked. “What seems strange?” I asked. “The fury and nature of this storm. I just telephoned a neighbor down the street and he said that it didn’t rain there.” “Didn’t rain there? A few blocks away? How can that be?”

“And all their lights are on,” he continued.

It was strange to see a storm that occurred in only a few squareblocks.For no apparent reason I thought of Gideon. Immediately there was a blinding flash of lightning and all our lights came back on. We discussed the storm for a little while longer.Personally,I seemed to connect it with something having to do with Gideon. Yet, that made no sense.To read the rest of the story visit http://www.spiritual-simplicity.com