This Really Happened to Me

One Friday night recently, I was in downtown Evanston, my adopted hometown, enjoying the warm weather. The downtown area has blossomed in the past ten years, thanks in great part to our mayor, Ms. Lorraine Morton. Boarded up stores have become part of a thriving marketplace, empty restaurants are now filled to capacity. Mayor Morton pushed for development of stores and condo buildings when others were reluctant to go along.

On this particular night, I could see the results. Families, college students and senior citizens were strolling streets alive with bubbly conversation and music. For one brief moment, I thought that if I were to see the Mayor, I would complement her on how well the town is gracefully evolving into a vibrant city, a destination for a night on the town.

As I advanced closer to the music, I saw it was the Evanston High School marching band, playing on a street corner. After a few moments of enjoying the music I turned and walked away.
For no particular reason that I can recall, I looked at a row of people sitting in lawn chairs at the corner, gently swaying to the rhythm of the music.

Who was sitting in the chairs? Why the Mayor, her husband and a few of their friends. Of course, I stopped and chatted with her, complementing her on positive developments in the city. She was very gracious and seemed to appreciate the feedback.

As I continued my walk downtown, I marveled at the synchronicity of the moment - I had thought about the Mayor, and within a few moments, I actually had a chance to speak to her.

My lesson from this is that often times the thing we are seeking are often in front of us, we just need to be open to seeing it.