Someone once told me that everything is not a "sign", but I am a person who looks for meaning in everything. To me the world is a metaphorical playground of the weird and wonderful. When I have an experience that is odd or that I do not understand, I try to figure out what it could mean in my life. Let me tell you what prompted me to write this blog post.
Almost every morning I walk over 4 miles to get my steps in before breakfast. I walk the same route every day in relatively safe neighborhoods, which is good because I walk alone. Because I have no one to talk to and because I walk the same route every day, you might think this would be boring for an hour and a half every morning. However, so that I don't get bored, I play a little game of trying to notice something every day that I have not noticed before on my walk. Well, over the last several days, the Universe apparently really wanted to get my attention!
I have come to be fairly familiar with the houses, yards, and yard decor of so many of the lots in this neighborhood over the last almost 2 years of living and taking walks here. The ones that stick in my mind are the ones whose owners have taken the time to decorate their yards with distinctive items. There is a house about a block from where I am living that has a large metal star adorning the front, and a sign stuck in the landscaping with blue cowboy boots on it. They also have planted a tree recently enough in the yard to still feel they need the staked supports so often used in such cases. There appeared a few days ago very near the sidewalk a shiny new flagpole in this yard which was flying an American flag on top with a Kansas City Chiefs flag right under it. There was a light on top that I noticed because it was kind of different. It had an oval surface directed downward that, rather than being a big glaring, solid light source, had a surface with small opening in it diffusing the light softly. "Cool", I thought. They are proud of their country and proud that the Chiefs are Super Bowl champs for 2 years running. I saw it for the next couple of days. On day 3 of noticing it, I decided to look at the ground where the flagpole was installed. No fresh dirt was turned over near the base of the pole, that would indicate evidence of it being recently installed. In fact, grass (old grass with broad blades!) was growing right up to the base of the pole. I thought that was weird, but I like weird. It was standing there like it had been there for a long time, although I knew it had not been. So, I believe when you take notice of special things, it is God, the Universe, All That Is trying to get your attention and give you some kind of message. What could this mean, I pondered. Maybe I was supposed to see this as a sign that my belief in paranormal events is valid. Maybe I am supposed to just re-examine my beliefs. Maybe I jumped to an alternate timeline or reality. Okay, I can imagine lots of eyerolls happening right now.
Then things got weirder. After seeing the flagpole in that yard for 3 days as I walked by, my walk by that yard surprised me more than I've been surprised in a long time. It was no longer there! Well, that was weird. Why would they have taken the time to put it up, just to take it down so soon?
On my next few days walking down that street, I decided to make sure I had not seen it in another yard and just become confused about where I had seen it. No flagpole of that kind anywhere! Not in that yard, not on that street, not on any street that I go down on my morning walks! So, because I'm still a sceptic, and always try to debunk any weird experience I have with logic and reason, I decided to look at the ground once more where I had seen the flagpole to see if there was freshly disturbed dirt from the unearthing of the flagpole. No disturbed earth in that yard or in any yard near the place where I had seen it! Instead, in the place where I had seen it was an old, rusty round water utility meter, looking as if it had been there for years! Now, the Universe REALLY had my attention! I take no prescription meds, no recreational drugs of any kind, and I haven't had an alcoholic beverage in more than 16 years! Could I be crazy and just hallucinating? Well, sure, I guess. The phrase, "run it up the flagpole and see who salutes" has been running through my mind this morning though. Maybe that is the message I am supposed to get. So, I know what that phrase means to me, but I decided to Google it to see the origin of the phrase and its meaning. It was a phrase that originated in the 1950s (like I did!) on Madison Avenue in the advertising world. It refers to putting your ideas out there to see who pays attention. Whoa!!!
So, Universe, here I am paying attention and putting this story of my weird experience out there to see who else's attention it gets.
Do you believe in things science has not YET proven?
Those of you who know me know that I am an eccentric person to some degree. I guess that could be an understatement. Ha, ha, ha! I believe in many things considered paranormal because of personal experiences I have had. I believe in ghosts, extraterrestrials and a higher power who created this reality. I have no scientific proof of any of these beliefs. I believe there is so much more to this reality than can currently be explained by science. But science constantly expands on theories. Science used to say that everything in space revolves around the earth.
I know some of you do not believe that what I experienced was real, and that is okay! But can you believe I got something positive from it? I think I did. It replenished my sense of wonder and gave me something that made me want to learn even more about what is possible for us here in this weird and wonderful world.
It is my fervent wish that everyone who reads this still has or learns to develop that sense of awe and wonder that makes life worth living. I truly hope you find true, deep meaning in your life and continue to expand your awareness!
Here is a little example of some of the stuff that keeps me excited to learn more: