Giving Up Just Before the Miracle

We were driving from Yukon, in Canada, to Jackson Hole, Wyoming:  3500 kilometers or 2200 miles.  One way.

“What made you scared about being a passenger?” Gordon asked.

“I have no idea.  When I came here to Northern Canada, I didn’t have this fear.  Three years later, I am panic stricken that we won’t make it around corners.  I’m certain we are going to tip over,”  I said.

Ahhhh! No curves...yet.

Our drive took us through every type of terrain, road surface and weather condition.  They had no affect on me.  It was just the endless curves.  When it was Gordon’s turn to drive, I sat stiff with fear.

Gordon tried all sorts of tricks to distract me.  “Grab my Doris Lessing book from my bag in the back.  Read it to me.”  Reading aloud helped, but I knew the instant we entered a curve.

“Slow down!” I’d shout wanting to hit his ear with a good Doris Lessing backhand.

I wondered if a long car trip could cure my fear.  I wanted it to leak out and leave me alone.  I gambled the leak would happen before Gordon either threw me out of the car or put his reserved sign on the passenger seat.

“I’m going to let you in on a secret,”  he said.  “I’ve not heard anyone ever talk about this.  It’s totally my theory.”  Gord sipped his coffee with his right hand while steering us into a gentle, wide curve that headed uphill.  The embankment dropped steeply on my right.

“Tell me later!” I blurted.  “I can’t listen now.”

A little later, sitting in a restaurant perched scenically on the top of a mountain pass, I realized I had automatically selected a booth as far back from the pristine, drop-thousands-of-feet view as possible.   ‘God, if you would just have enough mercy to take this horrid stream of phobias out of my life, I could then be a human worthy of having this incredible friend.  Help me or I’ll lose him.’

“Do you want to hear my theory now?” Gord asked.

“Yah!  Lay it on me.”

“The reason accidents happen is because people give up.”  He took a huge bite of his hamburger.

I waited for him to continue.  He didn’t.  He just kept eating.

“Is there more?” I asked.

“No.  It’s that simple.”  After a self-satisfied grin confirmed his delight, he took a sip of his coffee.

“Okay, Gord.  You are obviously thrilled with the concept.  I don’t get it.”

“When people see that they are about to have an accident, they give up. If they didn’t give up, the accident would not happen.  They freeze and do nothing.  Or they throw their arms up and let it continue.  Or they give in to believing they can do nothing.”  He watched my reaction.

“You mean we could take action and we don’t?  We just give up.  And that’s why negative stuff happens?”

“Yep,” he nodded.  “You’ve got it.”

In that instant, a light came on.  With the clarity of a DVD movie, I saw what I had been doing.

When I bought my Bronco II in the North, I’d been given a warning.  While four-wheeling was fun, Bronco IIs could tip easily due to the wheel displacement.  For three years, I’d been four-wheeling in different vehicles, including my Bronco II.  Every time we used the Bronco, I would find myself silently freaked as we picked our way over narrow, crude and dangerous exploration trails in the mountains.

After three years, my terror had become a pitch.  I now applied it to any terrain.  Without realizing it, as we set off on our journey, I had no faith that Gordon carried the same cautionary respect for this vehicular idiosyncrasy.  I had embraced a self-imposed sense of helplessness at any hint of a swerve, curve or tilt.

Afraid to let my joy loose, I asked cautiously, “What would you do if  it looked like we were going to roll over in the Bronco?”

“What has caused cars to roll over on highway curves?” he asked.

Seeing the trap his question posed, I ignored it, “Let’s say we did start to tip.  Tell me what you would do.”

As I listened to this patient man, a transformation began.  Realization washed over my weary psyche.  He had heard me.  He took the wheel displacement factor as seriously as me.  Most important, he had not given up on me.

Knowing the fear could not be totally gone, I relished the relief in that moment.  I lived in a welcome degree of release and freedom.

Back on the road, mile by mile, fear began to diminish more.  By the time we reached Jackson Hole, I saw that Doris Lessing and I communed through print while many curves slipped by unnoticed.

A few days later, I settled into a lunch at the ski lodge in Jackson Hole.  Typically, the decor was rugged enough to complement ski boots and outer gear.  The floor was obviously a slab of concrete.

I asked our waitress for some ketchup.  The bottle was placed above and just to the right of my plate.  I put down my water glass, looked at the golden crispiness of my fried potatoes and reached for the bottle of ketchup.

I knocked the ketchup bottle hard.  It become a curling rock.  It was sliding gracefully away from me and running out of table.  The next surface was the concrete floor.

What to do?  Give up?

Not with Gordon as my friend!

I jumped up and leapt to the end of the table.  I cupped my hands in such a way that the bottle careened off them and catapulted into the air.  I grabbed for it, managing only to bat it up and away from the next table.  It was heading back towards my spot.  I raced under it and grasped it securely by the neck.

Like the grip of a drunk with the last drink of the night, I froze.  Arm in the air, I held my prize with astonishment.  Apparently people cheered.

I sank into my chair, elated. ‘This is what Gordon meant,’ I thought. ‘This is not giving up.  It is so worth it’.

(The photograph is one of my favorite walks on my island home.)

***

As I finished this, I could feel you surrounding me, Beloved Guides.

We are delighted with this topic.

I almost hesitate to ask which “topic” you mean.

The wonderful truth spoken by your friend is one that our Loving Source is putting to the world.  The Universe is asking that humans on your planet not give up.  You are all being asked to recognize the power of your efforts, no matter the size.  Our own Infinite Source of Love is prepared to rejoice as your miracle is experienced and revealed.

We cannot describe to you the Love, the joy and the power we see in this simple message.  The power behind the ability to not give up is Love.  When there seems to be no love, inject yours into the moment.  When any form of negativity erupts, jump into action.  Give with Love and open the door to a stream of virtues.

There could be a whole thesis on not giving up on relationships.

Yes, in each and every relationship, when love is given, to whatever degree possible, the miracles unfold.

That can be so difficult.  When people are in situations of abuse, torture, repression…any of those horrors, it is so hard to conjure up love.

Is that a truth?  What of the Jewish people who survived the Hitler crusade?  Their example holds Truth and Beauty of supreme power.  No surviving human gave up.  They never knew when they would be freed, but they never gave up.  Hope is a freeway for Love.  Love is a fuel for miracles.

We’re back to forgiveness, aren’t we?  We forgive so we can love and be free of negativity.  As long as we can find even a modicum of love, we have the power to overcome adversity and realign ourselves with Source.   Correct?

One virtue may stand aside from the others, but it is impossible for any to stand alone.  All are connected.

Just as all living things and beings are connected.

Yes.

Is there any such thing as a hopeless situation?

That is not possible.  Where there is life, there is hope.  Some humans have only been able to see an ant or a mouse as a reminder of life.  It is always available.

So your message is to not give up on any aspect of our planet, our relationships, or our lives.  Is that correct?

Also, do not give up on yourselves.  Our message is that the miracle is always waiting to reveal itself.  It is up to you to set it free.

It’s so easy to love you, my Guides.  Thank you for all you give.

We appreciate those people who see the messages and take them into daily living.  We give our thanks and will continue to bring the Infinite Divine to you with joy.