I am not new to The Secret, but sometimes we need a reminder. A few years ago, I had major surgery. After a few weeks of recovery, my sister, Pat, decided that it was time for me to venture out, so she picked me up to help her run some errands, and off we went to a major department store in suburban Chicago.

In the store, she needed to find the service desk, but it had been moved to another location in the store; in the area where it had previously been, there was a display of African art, including paintings, statuettes, and animals. Since I collect elephants, I was drawn to the animal table table and a beautiful elephant from Nairobi. I looked at it but did not consider buying it at that time. I had not been working for a few months and money was scarce.

We got lost on that floor and passed my elephant several times before finding the service desk and once more after finding it and taking care of Pat’s errand in that store. I had already claimed the elephant, but hesitated before buying it. Then I remembered, almost as though someone whispered it in my ear, that “there’s no loss in Divine Mind” (Florence Scoval Schinn, “The Game of Life”) and decided to purchase the elephant if it was less that $50. The price, including tax, came to $49.90, and I bought my elephant.

When I returned home, there were a few get-well cards waiting for me, but one caught my attention as it was from a friend I hadn’t heard from in several years. When I opened it, I was shocked as a 50 dollar bill fell out of the card. You see, the card came from one of the least generous people that I know! My elephant was free!!