Isn’t it interesting how the world around us reflects our own mood in each moment, sometimes in strange and interesting ways?
I jogged at McKinley Park this morning. McKinley Park has been a great place for me to run because not only is it a nice park, it is about exactly a one-mile loop. It’s also about a mile away from where I live. This makes it convenient to run there, loop around a few times, then come home.
Today I looped around McKinley four times, as part of my six-mile run. As I did, I noticed more than usual people making eye contact with me and appearing friendly. I was wearing my “Bazinga” t-shirt, which my wife got me for Christmas awhile ago. The shirt is bright red and has three periodic table of elements symbols on it: Ba, Zn, and Ga, which stand for Barium, Zinc, and Gallium respectively (I had to look that up). When you add up these, you get something close to “Bazinga.” If you are a fan of “the Big Bang Theory,” you know this is what eccentric genius Sheldon says on the show to indicate he is making a joke!
This morning, as the positive feedback from others registered for me, I had this thought: “Wow, I bet it’s the shirt. I wonder if someone is going to ask me about it.” Which by the way, no one ever has, certainly not while running, which I am sure I have worn it while doing before. In fact, I have had this shirt for several years, and the only time I remember it coming up in conversation was once while getting coffee at the cafe.
By the way, I was also in a good mood, so I’m sure the vibe I was giving off was positive. But this wasn’t the first time I had been in a good mood while running at the park. Could it be the shirt?
I got back home, and as I stretched out in front of the house, a man and a woman strolled by with their dog. The man smiled at me, and then said, “What’s that say?” looking at my shirt.
“Bazinga,” I replied.
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a reference to a TV show, ‘the Big Bang Theory.'” The woman, presumably his wife, nodded in recognition.
I continued: “One of the characters says it. And they are all scientists, so…”
And then he nodded too, getting the joke. After all, it is a pretty clever shirt!
As the couple walked away, I connected the dots. The exact thing I had thought of came true: someone asked me about my shirt!
It’s a rather whimsical story, yet I can’t help wondering about the connection between the thought that came to me and what ended up happening. Did I attract that experience by giving off a good vibe, which drew people to be friendly to me and then manifest in this fun and light-hearted way? And was that vibe somehow embodied in my red shirt?
I dunno. But it’s a reminder that we get back what we give off.
And today I guess I was giving off the playful whimsy of a red t-shirt.