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Getting out of Dodge and meeting God

This weekend, I went to Santa Barbara for a yearly retreat I've taken since 2000. One property over from one of the most exclusive hotels on the West Coast, the San Yisidro Ranch, sits a gorgeous property called La Casa de Maria. Lush but simple landscaping and hidden areas for meditation cover the acerage and allow for quiet contemplation of life's curveballs and tribulations. US News and World Report call the center "One of the 50 Ways to Improve your Life."

It has become a "tradition" (don't ask me why), upon arrival Friday afternoon, for a friend of mine and I run 30 or so stories up into the hills east of the property. He's in his 60's and in much better shape than I am, so I typically start the weekend rather humbled. Despite surviving and enjoying a training run of 11 miles last Sunday, this "run" wiped me out inside of 10 minutes. Every year, I must forget how bad the previous years were.  In any case, also tradition, at the pinnacle of our trek, we stop and issue primal yells toward the heavens. Based on the year I've had, one of my screams included a two-word phrase that’s not appropriate for this blog. I don't know how God felt about being sworn at, but I felt much better afterwards.

Friday evening we held our welcoming ceremonies. I was excited to see "G" there. G is a major Hollywood Writer/Director with some impressive credentials and quality work behind him. I met several years ago at these retreats but have never had a close connection to and hadn’t seen in a couple years since he’s moved out of state. --   Now, I need to backtrack to July -- While going to a meeting with a friend, we stopped at a Starbucks in Carlsbad for coffee. I've never stopped at that Starbucks before or since on a Saturday morning but that morning as I walked out, I ran into G! 

"Hey G!" I said. 

He stared blankly at me. I explained where I knew him from and we shook hands. 

"Are you going to the retreat this year?" I asked.

His eyes focused on mine and he asked when it was. I told him, he glanced off to the distance as if calibrating his schedule and nodded. I told him I hoped to see him and we parted ways. Of course my ego envisioned grandiose visions of my “efforts” changing his life. Then, I suspected that my efforts would do little to change the course of someone’s life, especially of someone who has achieved such life accolades. Friday night at the retreat, I’d learn the truth.

G ended up being one of the first to speak before the group and shared how he recently had a dramatic and traumatic situation play out in his life. He and members of his family had recently spent time at a major addictions clinic to teach them about the family member whose life is in jeopardy. The day after he left that clinic, he was at the Starbucks in Carlsbad where he ran into me. Not only did I have a direct impact in him attending the retreat, I ended up being his roommate for the weekend!

I’m proud that I kept the focus with G on the weekend’s agenda and didn’t try to take advantage of the situation to “push” my writing or advance any ego cause.

If nothing else this weekend, I remembered that sometimes God is found in the mountains, sometimes shows up in meditation gardens, but sometimes He just works His magic on Saturday mornings at Starbucks...