Remember my brand new, baby blue, not-that-inexpensive, beauty of a road bike I bought in the Spring?  Well, while in the mountains on vacation recently my beautiful bike vanished.   Not only my bike, but my friend's bike as well.  While I grieved the financial hit more than the actual bike, he grieved for what I can only describe as the loss of a good and loyal friend.

The events of our lives always provide opportunities for personal insights, growth, alignment and realignment with what's important, what really matters.  And this is no exception.  'Bad' things happen.  'Sad' things happen.  Life can feel unfair.  Yet all events are neutral.  We give them meaning and we always have a choice.

The experience of my property being stolen is evidence, to be sure.  But of what, I get to decide.  It could be evidence that people can't be trusted; that I should lock up everything I own and keep a more watchful eye.  Or it could be a reminder to be mindful of that which I allow myself to become attached and what I allow to define me, to evaluate how much I really live my life "at choice" and how much I will practice what I preach.

Ever decide you want to buy a certain kind of car and then suddenly see them everywhere? We magnify, accelerate, and explode within our consciousness and experience those things upon which we focus our attention.   We can choose not to focus our attention on the worst in people, but instead on the good we see all around us.  A grandson who still pulls the chair out for his elderly grandmother, a young father who cradles his baby with such love in his eyes, a stranger who tells me I left my lights on in my car.

I don't want to be bitter or fearful.  I want to be happy, safe, secure and optimistic.  So I must be in the flow and say "yes" to what happens.  Everything ends.  Good times, bad times, success, failure, equipment, relationships, human lives, bike ownership.  And there is always some kind of new beginning.  It appears that homeowners insurance may cover our loss and while we've yet to hear exactly how it will work out, one thing I know for sure... it will.  It always does.