I Believe in Magic…

…recently I misplaced a large amount of pesos.  I never keep much money around.  I took a couple of 100 peso notes out of the stash and hid it…or at least I thought that I had hidden it.  The next morning I went to retrieve the money…and it was GONE……I looked everywhere…and it was not to be found.  I kept looking and my mind came to many different conclusions about its whereabouts, including the possibility that it was stolen.  Mistrust…anger…frustration…sorrow…attachment….it all came up.  I told my friend Bill about it and he conveyed a similar story that had happened to him.  He told me that the money that he had lost reappeared after he let go of looking for it…he advised me to let go….This morning…quite early…I awoke around 3:30am and could not get back to sleep.  Around 4am I got up and went online to check my email.  I received notice via Caring Bridge that a dear friend, Aria Rose had passed on after a bout with cancer.  Her passing touched me very deeply.  She was one of my core friends and fellow refugee from the demise of Rajneeshpuram in the mid 80's.  We were a bunch of misplaced returnees from an overly extended Summer of Love in India and Oregon… a close knit group trying to create our lives in the world again.  One of the sayings that I remember Bhagwan imparting back in those days was, "Be Realistic…Plan for a Miracle"  I remembered those phrases the other day when I was looking for my lost pesos.  This morning, in tears, after learning about Aria's passing, I asked her to send me some sort of sign from the other side.  I forgot about my request as I showered and got ready for the day.  I went to put on a shirt that I rarely wear anymore…it has a floral muted design…I pulled it out and felt paper or something showering on my bare feet…the lost pesos!!!!!  I fell to my knees in a bittersweet puddle of tears…Not crying about the money…I felt the presence of magic and my friend Aria and the Miracle of just letting go.  I am reminded of when Juan Diego opened his cloak for the Spanish Bishop to reveal the apparition of Guadalupe and roses cascaded from the cloak and fell at his feet….the pesos and the magic falling on the floor around me…what a gift that I received from a Dear Old Friend on her way to the next adventure……Be Realistic….Plan for a Miracle…..