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The Little Black Book

written by Pedrew

By PedrewPublished 3 years ago 8 min read
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It was just another ordinary day. Early morning rise, exercise, work, home. Yet, it would be the beginning of a journey like no other before it was over. There was nothing out of the ordinary throughout my day until I returned home and checked my mail. Now you have to see checking my mail was unusual in itself as all my mail goes to my PO Box. Yet, for whatever reason, I checked my mail and found an envelope simply addressed to:

What would you do?

03881 HWY 9

Mt. Oregon, OR 54079

My curiosity was peaked. I couldn't resist opening the envelope to get an explanation for the way it was addressed. What could possibly be inside? It wasn't heavy. It was thicker than expected but felt like a book. I imagined it would probably be some creative promotion ploy by some company to drum up business. But figure I'll see what it is and give them props for their creativity, if nothing else.

What I found inside left me a bit bewildered. It was merely a little black book. Pages were empty. Nary a mark. Nothing. I had to laugh a little as I looked over the envelope again, trying to decipher who had sent it. No return address, and even more oddly, there was no postmark, just canceled stamps. I picked up the little black book again, leafed through the pages thinking perhaps I had missed something. Nothing.

I began to wonder if perhaps this was some prank by one of my friends. I wouldn't put it past some of them to be this silly but still figured they'd put a clue of some kind somewhere, and there was nothing. I looked through that little black book numerous times. Nothing. Finally, I decided to set the book aside and figured that I'd use it for a journal, if nothing else. I'd wanted to begin a gratitude journal for some time, so I thought perhaps this was just the universe's way of getting me started on just that.

That whole evening, no matter what I was doing, I couldn't get how it was addressed out of my mind.

What would you do?

What did that mean? Who was behind this creative ploy? I enjoyed the unexpected and unexplainable surprise but was puzzled by not knowing the meaning behind it all. My nights' sleep was filled with the question, What would you do, leaving me feeling restless the next morning. Gratefully it was my day off, so the night of fitful restlessness didn't leave me frustrated but rather curious.

My curiosity left unsatisfied and unanswered, I returned, as I started my day, to searching the envelope and little black book for answers. Again nothing of any indication on the envelope but when I opened the little black book, to my wonderment, there on the first page was the question written as plain as day;

What would you do .....?.

I quickly paged through the rest of the book again. Nothing. Did I somehow overlook seeing this yesterday? How? I must have looked through the book twenty times, searching for a clue. But there, plain as day was the question;

What would you do .....?.

Now, as if it didn't already, this little black book had my full attention. How did this question suddenly appear inside the book? I quickly checked my doors to be certain I had locked them, thinking perhaps someone had come into my home as I slept, but they were locked securely. My friends can be creatively silly, but no way they'd go so far as to sneak into my home as I slept to write this question inside the little black book. Still, it left me slightly uneasy at the thought.

How else could the written question suddenly be there when I was beyond confident it wasn't there the previous evening. What was going on? Despite the uneasy feeling, I had to admit I was still curiously intrigued and yet plagued by the question.

I opened the book again. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. It now read;

What would you do if this was all you had?

I was left speechless. There was absolutely no way someone else was in my small 700 square foot home without my knowledge. Yet there with no possible explanation more was written inside the little black book. How? What was the universe trying to tell me? Was I losing my mind? Was this just a dream? I pinched myself just to make sure. Yep, that hurt. It was too strange to be believable. But here it was, a tangible truth, written without explanation;

What would you do if this was all you had?

What was this asking? What would I do:

if this book was all I had?

if this home and life were all I had?

if this day was all I had?

I was mesmerized yet puzzled by this unexplainable package and the written question that magically appeared. Uniquely I felt inspired as well to honestly answer this question, whatever it actually meant. So I began to write, in response to the question, inside the book.

What would I do if this was all I had?

Be grateful for every moment, every thought, every breath, every heartbeat. In writing this, I realized there must be a part of me that wasn't grateful for these things. So I had to ask myself, what was preventing me from being so? Perhaps this was simply just a magical gift from the universe to inspire me and remind me my simple blessings of the magic of life were immeasurable.

Over the next few days, I began simply writing the things for which I was grateful. Whether it was just being in the present or the complexity of the growth I had gone through over the loss of love. Each message of gratitude made me more aware of how I was not fully alive and present in every moment, every thought, every breath, every heartbeat, but yet now, the universe was captivatingly giving me the opportunity to be so indeed.

Who would have ever thought that single question was only the beginning of this journey like no other. I went to write my daily thoughts of gratitude, and there unexplainably again was a new question;

What would you do if you had nothing to lose?

I had come to accept that somehow this little black book was a miraculous gift from the universe, so though surprised by the unexplainable appearance of a new question, I was also inspired by the broadening of the journey this unexpected gift was taking me on? I began to wonder what question next it might ask but then realized it had just asked me a question I had yet to answer:

What would I do if I had nothing to lose?

I'd write. I'd love. I'd live. I'd dance. I'd laugh. Id give. I'd be. So I had to ask myself what was keeping me from doing all of these and so much more right now? Nothing. It made me laugh at the simple philosophical circle in which I found myself. Nothing was keeping me from doing everything if I had nothing to lose.

Could being alive in living my life be this simple? So I set out to do as if I had nothing to lose. I started writing the poetic thoughts that stirred within me. I expressed love to those that mattered to me and through my actions and words to all those that crossed my path. I strove to be alive in living each day, not passing up a moment for tomorrow. I danced like I knew how to. I laughed because I didn't but loved it anyway. I gave without expectation when needed or asked for. I enjoyed being me. Over the next few days, I discovered that in living as if I had nothing to lose, I found everything.

At this point, I had forgotten entirely about what question next would this magical little black book ask. It didn't matter because what I was learning and discovering was the miraculous part. Whatever it asked, I was ready to embrace without reservation, without question. Again I had to laugh at myself for the philosophical circle I found myself in. A magically asked question had brought me to live my life to its fullest without question.

So when I opened the book the next morning to write, nothing could have prepared me for what I discovered inside—a check for $20,000. I was dumbfounded. The magical nature of the questions was enough. What they had led me to realize was priceless. But there it was. And there written on the page beneath the check was another question;

What would you do with $20,000?

This wasn't some hypothetical, theoretical question as there in my hand was the check for $20,000. It was now. Who was I, truthfully? Was this journey these past few weeks real in what I had discovered and learned? What was I going to do?

It brought me back to the beginning of this adventure in my thoughts. Who was behind this? Was the universe magically opening me up to becoming, truly becoming? So now, here I am.

What would you do with $20,000?

This journey has changed my life. Given me a chance to be alive in living. So this is what I'll do:

Invest in what I've learned.

Write from my heart.

Love unconditionally.

Live fearlessly.

Dance like I know how to.

Laugh because it heals.

Give without reservation.

Be me because no-one else can be.

Here I thought I had traveled quite a ways but now realize each moment of each day is its own beginning of a journey like no other and must be embraced as such.

Knowing where this little black book came from no longer crossed my mind. For it was where it had taken me that mattered and made all the difference.

happiness
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About the Creator

Pedrew

Hobbyist

Poetic Meanderings writer

Nature Photographer

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