Intention is such an important topic because nearly everything that happens in our lives is a product of it. Moreover, our aspiration and intent expresses across a wide spectrum of human activity: from a mild interest in a subject to an intense desire for something to come about. And yet what makes intention so compelling is that life will respond to it no matter what level it is expressed. Whether we show a passing interest in a matter, or passionately aspire for something to come about, a life response result of some form is bound to follow. For example, here is a little incident that shows how life can respond to a mere flight of fancy.
One day I was walking along a rapidly changing district of San Francisco’s waterfront. The area had once been the site of the city’s once bustling seaport, but had now fallen into disrepair after it moved across the bay to the booming Port of Oakland. In recent years, however, city officials had decided to convert the abandoned area into a new office and residential complex. The ambitious effort to develop the ‘Mission Bay’ project bore its first fruit when the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) -- an institution known for breakthroughs in biotechnology and other medical research -- moved a large part of its campus there. Now, after decades of planning, and with a series of gleaming office and residential towers dotting the landscape, this large urban development was finally taking shape.
On this particular day, I was taking my usual long walk along the bay. Then as I passed the complex, I noticed in the distance that one of the new buildings stood empty. I knew this was the case because months earlier I had read about it in the local press. Now, as I looked out at the impressive new structure gleaming in the distance, I could not fathom why it had not attracted a single tenant. After all, it was not only a handsome building, with a lovely pale-green glass exterior, but it was also located in a choice location. Moreover, as my eyes swept along the wide expanse of Mission Bay, I noticed that virtually every other building built was fully occupied.
Then for some reason, I went off on what one might call a flight of fancy. I imagined that if I owned a large company, I would be very eager to transfer my staff to this strategically located building. That way, the workforce would not only work at an attractive campus with pleasing views of the bay, but they would also be located a short distance from the bustling downtown area, with all of its amenities. In other words, by moving here, my company would enjoy the best of both worlds – i.e. separation from the busy downtown area, yet with easy access to it.
When this peculiar, but energizing vision finally passed, I turned away from the complex and continued my jaunt around the waterfront. Hours later, when I drove back to my office located 20 miles to the east, I sat down at my computer to check the latest news on the web. Within one minute, I noticed a story that a famous companyheadquartered in San Francisco -- The Gap -- had just decided to move a number of staff members out of its central downtown headquarters and into an unoccupied new building on the edge of town. Out of curiosity, I wondered which building it was. On further inquiry, I discovered that it was, in fact, the very one I had earlier daydreamed about! Apparently, the Gap -- who were actually the owners of the building -- had tried and failed to sublease it to tenants in the past, and now had decided to occupy it themselves. I had to shake my head and laugh at this dramatic little response from life.
As we see, when we take an interest in a subject or issue, a level of intention takes shape, which generates a pulse of energy that aligns with and attracts corresponding elements back to our person. Even if our intention is merely a passing fancy -- as it was in this case -- life will still respond with more information, knowledge, or potentiality related to that original matter.
See also other Case Studies on Life Response
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