Years ago, I recall Dr. Bernie Siegel referring to the concept of a ‘spiritual flat tire’ as those bumps in the road that may delay us but need not stop us completely.  The exact quote:  “Diseases can be our spiritual flat tires – disruptions in our lives that seem to be disasters at the time but end by redirecting our lives in a meaningful way.” Not only have I found dis-ease to fall into that category, but  life happenstance that could take the form of job challenges, relationship conflicts, financial issues, death of loved ones OR just like today, an actual puncture in the round, rubber object that keeps my Jeep in motion. A day ago, the warning light came on that told me that one of the tires had low pressure. Taking immediate action, I pulled into the parking lot of my friendly local mechanic named Donny.  He filled all 4 of them with air and reminded me that if the light went back on, it needed to be handled further. That night, I went to visit a friend in the hospital and on the way out, sure enough the tire was sagging again. After refilling the tire enough to get me back home, when I awoke this morning,  it had dimished one more time. I called AAA who sent out an angel named John, with a Nike t-shirt which had the swoosh logo and Just Do It imprinted on the back,  to take off the flat and replace it with the donut spare. Unfortunately, when he left, he misplaced the special wheel lock key for the tire, which I didn’t know about until after he had left my home.  

Taking the tire back to the repair shop, Donny informed me that it needed to be replaced since the sidewall had been damaged. After going to the dealership from which I had purchased the car and being told that they didn’t have the one I needed in stock, I found a Goodyear store and they were able to replace it. Unfortunately because  it was as a result of hitting something sharp on the road, I would have to pay for it. I did have the foresight this time to purchase insurance for the life of the tires in case the same thing should happen again.

At this moment, I am waiting for the AAA repair man to somehow locate a substitute for the wheel lock, while my shiny new tire is leaning against the car, sun bathing. While all this was happening today, I kept asking myself the purpose, the lesson, the message in all of this. I had planned to get together with my friends Peter and Jackie  and meet their year and a half year old son Shane. My son Adam had baked all kinds of goodies to bring there, since that is his passion. And here I sit, tapping and typing away.

A few lessons in all of this:

1. Freedom from frazzle. Patience is a virtue.  It does me no good to get myself worked up over something for  which I have no control.

2. Worrying is a waste of imagination. Lately I have been concerned about money, even though I have a full time job and many consulting jobs that support me in increasingly abundant ways and I have ALWAYS been taken care of by the Universe.  I have taken note that when worry-wart-itis kicks in, unexpected  expenses have a way of creeping up. Last week, I discovered that  a company whose service had been cancelled, was still debiting my account. Putting in a dispute with my bank, I await that remedy as well.  AND for those who have been following my escapades in the Bliss Blog, I spoke about roof problems over the winter that I thought had been remediated. In a torrential storm yesterday, after my son had replaced the drywall that had been damaged earlier, we found that it was no longer dry, since the roof was once again leaking. A roofer friend is coming out to take a look at it. My prayer is that it be before the next heavenly shower.

3. When in doubt, pray it out.  For me, prayer isn’t always about petitioning for something to be different, although I admit to doing that at times. It is more often a way of acknowledging what is already so. I knew on some level that this situation would work out. And it did. Although the missing tire lock key was  not found, the mechanic had a way of getting the lug nut off the tire and I purchased a new one for a nominal fee.

I am back on the road, physical flat tire replaced with a shiny new one that will help get me from point A to point B in perfect timing. As for the spiritual flat tire, I sense it was just Spirit’s way of getting me to see that even though my day went nothing like I had planned, there was still fun to be had. I got some writing done while waiting for the mechanic, I got to exercise both patience and my body. Found time to go to the gym that I would not have, had I been with my friends. While there, I watched the last hour of the Da Vinci Code and especially appreciated the line that Tom Hanks’ character named Robert Langdon uttered at the end of the film:  “Why is it divine or human?  Can’t human be divine?”  

Offering you a musical reminder, that at then end of the line…”It’s alright.”  http://youtu.be/cwqhdRs4jyA   It’s Alright by The Traveling Wilburys