Every now and again, something happens in life… which is out of the clear blue.  And for no apparent reason.

That “something” may elicit an emotion, or a response, or even a memory.

Wouldn’t you know!  This happened to me to day.

I had just washed my car and was in the parking lot, all by myself… no one else around.  And as I was pulling out… a little purple ball bounced its way in front of my car.  Completely out of nowhere.

Of course I had to retrieve it and have a closer look.  It was just a cheap little hollow plastic purple ball.

And all of a sudden, I was spun back to childhood.  Watching some children’s show, on something.  And they wanted us to sing along.  What did they say?  “Follow the bouncing purple ball.”

The words of the song magically appeared on the TV screen, along with the tune “Old McDonald”…. and out came the purple bouncing ball…. keeping in perfect time… ALL the words we were supposed to sing.

Eee – I – Eee – I – Ohhhhhh.  And on his farm he had pig.  Eee – I – Eee – I – Ohhhhhh.

Sing, I did.  Yes, I sang my little lungs out along with that purple ball.  It was all laid right out there for me.  Very simple.  Very clear.

So as I sat in the car wash parking lot…. purple ball sitting next to me in the passenger seat… the question begged.

“Why can’t all of life be spelled out so clearly, so simple?”  The purple ball did not answer.  Not a peep.  It just sat there on the seat next to me.

Yet.  Maybe it did answer in its own little way.  Maybe it was there to tell me that sometimes “things” happen in life for no apparent reason.  The little ball strays from the song… and hops right across your life…. when you least expect it.  It is keeping perfect time.

And what are we supposed to do?  Keep perfect time with it. Accept it for the moment.  Follow the little ball… as it rolls right with us.  Don’t try to put it back on the screen of the TV.  It came out for a reason…. after all.  It has a song to teach us…. and I’m going to sing along.

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.  —  Dalai Lama
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If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.  —  Khalil Gibran
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The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become.  —  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe