Memory.

A while ago, on my first trip to the United Arab Emirates, I sat in a night club. It was huge, red, dark, and very very loud. It was pointless to be there, except for the people that surrounded me at the gigantic round table. Provided you could yell loud enough, and hold your liquor (after awhile I was pouring the drinks that would magically appear in front of me slowly on the floor) you were amongst some of the top minds. To my right was a gentleman who, upon engaging him, would say one of two things, "You are a natural beauty." or "Do you consider yourself happy in this moment?" To which I would reply "Thank you." or "Yes." To my left was a gentleman who thought people in marketing would be, "Pleasant, plump, unmarried women who wore smock dresses." Beyond him were two very joyfully drunk Germans, my colleague who I wanted to slaughter for thinking this was a good idea, and probably several others in between who were most likely also important, but why fails me.

With all this going on, I witnessed a power game. It was literally a competition of who could out impress, out talk, out drink, and basically out do the next person. Because of my lightweight status I sat, mute, watching this group churning around me - daring each other and calling to buy rounds of drinks that totaled hundreds of dollars.

The man leaned forward, "Do you consider yourself happy in this moment?"

No, I wanted to say. No. Because around me sits the reason why I enjoy the trenches. I'm not an ego maniac who has to drop names and buy designer shirts. I'm from a hard working stock who would look at all this and immediately launch into 'starving children in Africa' speeches.

"Oh yes. Yes, this is great." I lied.

"You're lying." He said. He leaned forward to me, cigar and colored alcohol in hand. "You've been lying to me all night."

I was taken aback. I had been sitting there for maybe 4 hours miserably counting down the moment they would have to kick us out. Listening as the gentleman to my left bashed women (in hindsight I think he was a recent divorcee) glowering at my colleague, and pouring drinks which may have totalled $20/each on the carpet under the table.

"You are meant for somewhere else. This world is not your world. I have a feeling you will do better than us because you will do things differently." and with that he sat back, appraising my shock and then lapsing - as if through memory loss - back to his previous two statements.

About an hour later the lights flicked on. I took that as my queue to flee the building, bemused colleague in tow and knowing full well I had just witnessed the dropping of $2,500 on alcohol for at least 8 people. And in the middle of it, some weird little light came out through a channel unsolicited saying that I wasn't meant to do things this way. There was a better way. I suppose we all have doubting moments, and surely that was one of them, yet in the middle of it be told I am potentially the better of all those people - and those people were powerful people.

Stuff like that stays with me, because it was so unexpected that I wonder if I had to sit there all night so the universe could tell me something. I just had to wait long enough. Ever since then I've jumped at opportunities, even if they make me feel uncomfortable. Who knows, maybe the universe will have another message for me. Hopefully, it will be a positive one.