Wonderful surprises await when you live in the moment and open yourself to the flow of life.  Cast aside yesterday’s problems and tomorrow’s worries to sink into the richness of mindful living.  Like bubbles rising to the surface of a gurgling creek, surprises reveal themselves in the most delightful way.

I recently enjoyed a mindful adventure with an elder named Grace.  Grace is an active little woman who is admirably approaching the league of octogenarians.  That’s the term used for people who have reached their eighth decade of living!

On the day of our adventure, Grace wore little black sneakers.  Bounding ahead, she lead me on a zig-zag course across two cities as we encountered numerous detours and unexpected surprises along the way:  an escalator out of commission, a ticket machine not working, and construction debris all put us on a maze towards the train station.

The first delightful surprise was the sight of a new train advancing our way.  Grace prefers new trains and voiced this aloud at the start of our journey.  The power of positive intentions brought magic not once, but three times over the course of our journey!

The next delightful surprise was a scrumptious lunch at a renowned Chinese restaurant, known for it’s unusual delicacies.  Snake seemed to be the common delicacy, quite possibly due to this being the Year of the Snake on the Chinese Zodiac.  Although we feared sharing our table with a snake, we agreed we could compromise and share our table with some other ocean creatures. Lucky for me, they came headless and without eyes glaring back at me!  Instead, they were neatly tucked into attractively crimped dumplings.  While feasting on our meal, I eyed the other tables nearby and breathed a sigh of relief, not seeing any snakes slithering freely about!

The third surprise was realizing our commonalities.  Even with a generation between us, we shared the same discerning eye for the finer things in life.  Grace led me to an upscale cafeteria, brimming with colorful foods artfully displayed.  I felt like a child in a candy store as the temptations were limitless.  Later, we perused women’s wear, searching for the perfect pair of casual pants for Grace.  We examined every pair of black pants that crossed our path, examining style, washability, fabric weight and pockets.  Too stiff, too loose, too heavy, too light, too short, too long, too narrow, too wide, too high, too low, too dressy, too casual!  It was like Goldilocks and the three bears, with no bowl of porridge that was just right.

This story ends up just like Goldilocks with the perfect place to rest and recharge ourselves from the day’s adventures.  Returning to the quiet comfort of her condo, we enjoyed a light snack and looked over old photographs together.

We have a lot to learn from the elders in our world.  They are a rich source of wisdom when we open our minds to receiving their deeper perspectives honed from years of life experience.  Take a break from our fast-paced digital world and nourish yourself in the presence of a wise elder.  The wisdom you gain will be from the memories of the time you spent together!