On the road...

My family and I were vacationing in the Washington, DC area last week. Our hotel had families and business people from around the world.

I knew I had to write this blog when I returned to work this week and was thinking about what to write while riding in our hotel’s elevator. As if on cue, the elevator doors opened, and a family got on with a very excited and fast-moving toddler who was ready to explore this new world.

The back of the elevator’s doors were mirrors and while all stood together watching the floor numbers flash by, the little girl looked in the mirror doors and saw us in the reflection. We smiled at her and she giggled and wiggled.

Then, it happened. She turned her head slightly and saw us AND our reflections. A light went on for her – and her eyes lit up in recognition that the reflection and the people were one in the same. She let out a gleeful chortle and her eyes met mine and seemed to say to me, “I got it! I’ve learned something new! Wow!”

The elevator doors opened on her floor and she took off down the hall, her family in hot pursuit.

As the elevator doors closed, my family and I looked at each other in wonderment with what we had just witnessed – that precious moment of awareness and understanding of the world around us.

I have had this experience before in mediation when people in conflict suddenly gain a new realization and awareness of the conflict situation and work towards a peaceful resolution.

This opportunity, or “ah-ha” moment usually sneaks up on them, just like it did for this little girl. All it takes, sometimes, is a “tilt of the head” to see the conflict situation and the world in a new way. It also takes being open to the opportunity.

So take a step back or to the side and look at life in a different way. May you experience illumination and the pure joy that this new awareness brings.

-Karen Richards