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October - December, 2009

The One About th Jaguar

by Rev. Stephan Mead

“Dad, I’m not going to be in town for Fathers’ Day” my son informed me. It was a couple of days before June 19th.

I am part of a large family (3rd out of 9 children) and both my mom and dad passed away during the last 18 months. Father’s Day was always celebrated as an extended family affair. My brothers and sisters, spouses, our children, our children’s children, etc., would gather together for fun, fellowship, gratitude and feasting. Truly, the Walton family had nothing on us, except our jokes with each other would have never passed the TV censors.

So when my son told me about his out of town plans, it just brought up some sadness that a long tradition had ended, or perhaps more spiritually correct, a tradition was going to change. I hadn’t thought that to my children just being with me on Father’s Day was any big deal because, as is often the case, I was absorbed in my own situation of feeling loss and the emotional companions that accompany that feeling.

“Hey, no problem at all.” I replied to my son, “we’ll get together when you get back from the coast. I immediately started thinking about my three daughters, “would they want to get together on Sunday?” “Dad,” my son interrupted my thoughts, “Since I won’t be here Sunday, I want to give you your present today.” “Don’t worry about any present,” I said, “just getting together later will be present enough.”

Apparently a simple reply like “thank you” wasn’t in my vocabulary. I noticed my son seemed a bit uneasy, vocal expressions of love don’t come easily to him. (Passed on from his mothers’ side of the family?) Anyway, he continued, “I wanted to get the best for the best… here!” Accompanying the “here” was a set of keys gently tossed to me.

I must have had a look of bewilderment on my face, because my son said, “Dad, they fit that Jaguar parked on the street. See it?” Did I ever see it… Parked in front of his home was a beautiful, black highly polished Jaguar XJ8L. “Take it for a spin, dad. I hope you like it. When I bought it, I had to sign your name on the title, because I didn’t want you to have to hassle with any paperwork.” How does one respond to a gift like that? I was at a complete loss for words. I never even thought of how my children might view Father’s Day.  Besides, I was so taken by the enormity and thoughtfulness of the gift, I was only able to stutter a “wow.”

One doesn’t “hop in” a vehicle like this. I “entered” the Jag, started it up and somewhere between all the gauges, the leather, the teak wood accents, the state of the art sound system, I found the ignition and off I went. I had to pay close attention to the road because for some reason my eyes had misted up. The Jaguar drove like Jaguars drive! I remember thinking, “What just happened? Why would my son have bought this for me? No way do I deserve this. What happened to giving your dad a tie?” That is the story of how I became a Jag owner, shared with you for a little background on what I really wanted to write about.

The Course study group I regularly attend meets Monday nights. I had told a couple of my fellow students about what happened. “Well, Stephan, you’ll sure have a story to tell during miracle sharing tonight” was their comment. I actually felt my friends’ happiness for my “good fortune.” When the time came during the study session, the facilitator asked, “are there any miracles to report?” I stayed silent. There were puzzled looks from some of my friends, but I had the feeling I was missing something important, so I said nothing.

During the next couple of days I told many people my Jag story. One reason was so they wouldn’t think I stole it! Without exception, comments were always, “what a miracle.” “You’re so fortunate. Can I adopt your son?” etc. And I was appreciative. I was and still am, overwhelmed by the generosity of my son. Still, I was feeling like I was missing something very important in this whole situation. “Why would getting a possession be considered a miracle?” I wondered. The Course seems very clear that, “to change illusions is to make no change” T-22.ll.2:4

“Ownership is a dangerous concept if it is left to you.” T-13.Vll.10:10 “Oh great!” I thought, now the gift that has been bringing me so much joy can be considered dangerous.

My mind went to another puzzle which was still unresolved, “Why would finding a hundred dollar bill be looked on as a miracle, while losing a hundred dollar bill would be looked upon as bad luck?” In reality, (Reality?) one hasn’t lost or found anything. As I was experiencing the discomfort of missing an important lesson, I went back to the quote I used at the beginning of this paragraph. “Ownership is a dangerous concept if it is left to you.” T-13.Vll.10 Now the quote read differently to me, I missed the part, “if it is left to you.” I asked for an interpretation, and immediately the quote “Every loving thought is true.” T-12.l.3:3 entered my mind. A wave of happiness swept over me. I “got it.” My son loves me and I love my son. It wasn’t about the gift, it was about the love behind it. I plan on taking many trips in my Jag to more fully comprehend love!

© 2009, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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