Last week was a banner week for me; really the last month or so has been pretty intense (in a mostly good way).

The why and how of that isn’t all that important (for the sake of this post) – it’s enough for you to know simply that the recent weeks have been full of transformation, acceptance, and a remarkable amount of serendipity.

Lately I’ve been focusing on meditation, gratitude, acceptance, and the general Happiness that comes from living in accordance with certain fundamental Truths.

I’ve found that The Universe really seems to pay attention when you do that. It seems to like it, and tends to get on better with you in general.  Last week proved that to me several times – sometimes in big ways, and sometimes in small ways.  For the past several weeks, for example, I’ve enjoyed a great deal of  serendipity.  Every time I’d turn around, it seemed, there would be some small and unexpected but obvious and timely affirmation.  On Friday, it came in the form of a paper bag from a fast food chain.  Yes, seriously.

On Friday Doug, Ted, and I all went out to lunch together (as we often do). After the mandatory indecisive banter as to where we would go, we decided we would go to Chipotle, and that we wanted to sit outside. Chipotle has outdoor seating, but it was lunch hour and they were busy, so we weren’t sure there would be a table outside available.  Our plan B was to eat on The Circle so we got our orders “to go” just in case.

As expected there were no tables available outside at Chipotle, so we walked to the circle and found a spot on the monument to sit with our lunch.  As I sat there enjoying the sun, and my tacos, I felt myself starting to get pretty stressed out.  Now there was nothing, mind you, presently happening that should cause stress.  It was a beautiful day, a tasty lunch, and none of us were in a particular rush that day … it was just about as perfect as a lunch can be.  Still I just couldn’t shake this growing feeling of stress and anxiety.

Some of you may recall from my previous post, that I reached an important milestone in a personal journey a few days prior.  That was Wednesday. It was a pretty big deal to me and it influenced the rest of my week strongly (and I’ve no doubt it will continue to do so … oh … forever, probably).  Transformation and growth, however, are tricky things.  Change, even when you know its good for you and are genuinely glad for it, can still be a terrifying thing; and fear and doubt were starting to haunt me in the middle of an otherwise perfect lunch.

Now, thanks to my recent focus on meditation and ‘being present’, I could see that this was needless suffering – but I was having a really hard time shaking it and being present.  (Turns out I’m human after all. bummer.)

It was about this time that Doug read something aloud off of the brown paper bag from Chipotle:

“Be Happy.  Be Good.  Try to Love Everyone.”

“Aw, that’s nice.” I thought.  It seemed strange to me for such a message to be on a fast food take-out bag, so I grabbed the brown paper bag from underneath my tacos and started reading the much larger block of text.

It was some guy’s (Judd Apatow’s) view on and rules for the world.  It was simple and profound (as truth is).  It had several nuggets of wisdom that collectively jumped out at me:

“I think it is okay to accept the fact that most people won’t get you.  We don’t need to like each other so much.  We need to be kind and respect each other.”

“Don’t be a jerk. Try to love everyone. Give more than you take. And do it despite the fact that you only really like about seven out of 500 people.”

– Judd Apatow

A little irreverent perhaps, but it basically echoed a truth that has been a mantra for me this last month.  It was exactly what I needed to “hear” in that particular moment.  The stress that had been building suddenly seemed a silly thing, and I was left simply with gratitude for a beautiful day and lunch on the circle.

I’d been re-centered … thanks to, of all things, a fast food take-out sack.  I mean, come on, when was the last time a fast food sack offered you just the right profound wisdom at just the right time?  Serendipity.

It’s okay if others don’t get you. Be Happy. Be Good. Don’t Be a Jerk. Try to Love Everyone.  Respect each other. 

I think I’m gonna order all my Tacos to go from now on.  They apparently come with a side order of Truth.