They got the memo

Several years ago, we went to visit our dear friends in North Carolina.  They live in a beautiful location, surrounded by a large wooded area where Dave had often gone hiking and seen some bears.  He actually had a too-close-for-comfort encounter with a bear once, but that’s a whole other story. ;)  I really wanted to see a bear on our visit, and was hopeful I’d at least get to see a massive dark figure streaking through the woods that I could identify as a bear and not as Bigfoot.  Logic told me I might see one or two off in the distance playing amongst wooded areas, up in a tree, pooping in the woods.  You know, that sort of thing.  Or maybe even pawing at some honey jar left by some random stranger along the roadside.  All week, my eyes searched the woods as we drove around, my nose glued to the window in hopes of even a glimpse of a bear or two or ten, but apparently the bears didn’t get the memo that I wanted to see them.  I left North Carolina, slightly disappointed.  We came back the following year to visit our friends, and I decided that this time, I would see a bear; the bears were going to get that memo, dammit!  Again, I imagined logical scenarios where a bear could be witnessed like along a roadside stand, chatting away with the vendor asking for taste-testers of the various types of honey, or in town grabbing a cup o’ jo, or along the pond dipping a toe nail in the water before plunging in.  Again, no bear.  No real “live” bear, that is.  What I did see were carved wooden bears along the road, bear paw print stickers on the backs of cars, bear figurines, the word “BEAR” in huge letters, and just about any bear paraphernalia you can imagine everywhere I went.  Although somewhat disappointed not to have seen a real bear, I kept my mind open at the Universe’s ability to play with me and show me the bears I had asked for, just not in the way I had envisioned it.  It reminded me that things don’t always appear as my limited mind conjures and that if I can play along and have an open-mind I could at least be entertained along the way.  Our next visit, although I still wanted to see a bear, logic told me that it wouldn’t be likely this time due to the time of year and due to my previous experiences in the last two visits.  So, although my desire to see a live bear was still there, I’d let go of needing to see it.  I stopped looking for the bear in the woods or at the local honey stand and I made peace with the idea of not seeing one.  I made it ok, rather than trying to “will” one into appearance.  We went about our week, having loads of laughs and loads of fun together as we always do.  Then one night, as we were enjoying a great meal, great conversation and multiple belly-laughs, we heard this sound coming from the porch, like someone was out there moving chairs around.  We weren’t expecting any visitors; so naturally, we all got up to see what the commotion was about.  Well, it wasn’t Santa and eight tiny reindeer, but instead, it was a living, breathing solo bear cub.  Our friend Dave looked out the window and exclaimed, “it’s a bear”!.  We all ran toward where he was looking, excitedly screaming, “where, where”?!?  So we ran to the door and flung it open, (seems like a logical thing to do don’t you think when there’s a bear on your porch…???) J ….much to our surprise and amazement and holy #@&t can you believe it, there in our faces was the bear’s very large, very beautiful, and very real, face.  Well that door flung shut just about as fast as it had flung open, but what a thrill!  A live bear!  Not pooping in the woods, but on our friends’ porch!  Well, you know what I mean….he wasn’t pooping on our friends’ porch, but he wasn’t pooping in the woods either.  Not several hundred feet away, and not at a roadside stand, but appearing for a very personal and up-close visit and peering right at us….face to face, so close that if we’d not slammed the door in his face, we would have felt his breath on our cheek and he may have taken it as a welcome to come right in.  I almost peed my pants he was so close! He wasn’t afraid and running away, but leisurely checking things out.  We hooted and hollered and were filled with indescribable excitement as we watched our porch visitor delicately and politely inspect his surroundings, sniffing here and there, curious about whatever was there for him to discover.  We watched in awe and silent reverie, captivated by this beast, until he decided to go.  He limberly climbed over the railing, his large paws nimbly finding the perfect grasp and navigating his rump over to the other side of the rail and then disappearing into the darkness.  I felt flooded with joy and excitement at what we’d just been privy to, like being part of a private Justin Beiber concert ;).  This show was “put on” just for us.  It made me realize in that moment how silly it was for me to conjure ways for things to unfold and how, when left up to the Universe without my interference, without my trying to make anything happen, without “willing” it to happen, but rather, just allowing it to happen, it can happen in what seems to be miraculous never-even-imagined, better-than-ever-imagined ways.  I mean…who woulda thunk it?  Face to face with a  bear…. on the porch…..Really?!?  It couldn’t have happened in a more ideal way and it couldn’t have happened at a more ideal time.  The Universe was conspiring on my behalf the whole time, creating the most perfect scenario in the most perfect way to please me and my other cohorts.  There was no way I could have ever imagined it to play out that way, pleasing me beyond my wildest dreams and thrilling me beyond words.