Have you ever lost your wallet or driver’s license or credit card or dog or kid for the matter?  These experiences elicit that gut wrenching “feeling.”

On an early Portland morning,  I rode my bike downtown to a 7am meeting.  My cell phone and drivers license were zipped safely in my Gortex pocket. The air was crisp and the streets quiet.  At the bottom of the ramp leading to the Eastside Esplanade just before the Steel Bridge, I hopped off my bike and pulled out my phone to see if I was taking the fastest route to my meeting.  Within about 30 seconds, I was on my way again heading across the Steel Bridge footbridge.

Then I got that “feeling.”  I reached into my pocket and my license was GONE.  Oh #@!!!  I turned around and sped back to where I had stopped to check my phone.  Thoughts started racing through my head. “I HAD to have dropped it when I pulled out my phone. It was only less than a minute ago, it has to be there.” “What if some drifter who wants to steal my identity and all my money and my dogs picked it up!”  To my surprise, the license was not where I had expected.  It was gone.  Lump in the throat.

I turned around and resumed my route. As I biked across the Steel Bridge, the thoughts began to shift. “You lost your license last year and it turned out ok.” “Losing my “identity” this time doesn’t seem quite as scary.” “What am I going to do about it. I just have to wait and trust.” “This is a test.”

I sat between my two Principal Brokers at the meeting and shared my experience.  Trying to be as present as possible I continued to calm myself inside and felt things shifting.  Then my phone buzzed. I had a Facebook message.  The message read, ” Hi Pam, I was jogging this morning on the Eastside Esplanade and I saw a biker drop something before crossing the Steel Bridge. When I got to it, it was your driver’s license.”  As I read the message, my entire body relaxed and then the excitement set in.  I interrupted whomever was talking at my meeting and shouted, “Someone found my license!”

The kind person asked if I wanted the license mailed to me or would I like to pick it up. I said to my Principal Broker, “Hell yes I want to pick it up!  I want to bring this person flowers and sell them a house!” in a half joking-half serious way regarding the house.

Full of gratitude and a deep sense of being taken care of, I peddled the scenic route to the address provided enjoying the Tilikum Bridge and revisiting the spot that I dropped my license. There was no sense of urgency any more.

To my surprise, the address was a business.  The door opened to a studio full of colorful, artistic clothing and a handsome couple cutting pieces of material.  He was a sculptor and she a clothing designer. I thanked them profusely for their kindness, hugs were exchanged and I explained what had happened. Somewhere in there I said I was a realtor. They shared with me that this morning was the first run they had taken this year. That as I flew by them literally my license escaped into the air and dropped before their eyes.

I knew that my husband would like to meet them, so I asked if they would mind if I stepped out and called him.  Soon Bruce was on his way.  As I waited, he somehow snuck into the building without me noticing and by the time I got back in, the laughter and talk was at a roar. The woman said to me, “When you stepped out, I thought to myself that I had been wanting to buy a house. Then you appeared.” Serendipity.

That morning I bought two beautiful pieces as a token of my appreciation and because I loved them. We spoke of meeting again to talk about real estate and eventually that day came.  The talk was really more about esoteric principals and the mystery of life than real estate but we managed to get the business part done.  The air was electric and I knew that it didn’t matter whether anyone bought a home as a result of this experience because everyone benefited from it immensely already.

This is the Yoga of Real Estate.