Finally, I got in and started the car. What a break, having the door open the way it did. Must have been a defect in the locking mechanism, I surmised. I was ready to pull out when I heard a knock on the passenger side window. Before I could see who it was, the door opened and a grinning face peered in.

?May I join you?? he asked matter-of-factly.

?Oh! It's you, Gideon. You should have been here earlier.?

Without replying, he slid into the passenger seat and motioned me to drive. As I backed the car out of the parking space, he asked, ?How about my little friend? Wasn't she beautiful??

?What friend?? I asked.

?The kitten ? the one that ran under your car.?

?Gideon, were you there all the time? Was that your kitten??

?No, not my kitten. She's just a friend, who, in her own way, led you to find a solution to the locked car door.? ?Tell me all about it, Gideon. I'm listening.?

?Think about it,? he replied, ?and you'll see how much better and easier it is to solve problems this way. All you have to do is change your mind about the problem. Look at it differently and it will start changing. Whatever you are looking at becomes what you expect.?

?Give me a break, Gideon! I didn't expect the car door to be locked, but it was, anyway. There goes your theory.? He looked at me the way a good teacher would regard a student who was a slow learner ? not in anger or frustration, but with infinite patience. Then he said, ?There is a law, a universal law,John, which says that whatsoever you expect out of life, that's what you'll get. When you discovered the kitten,you removed your focus from your problem with the car doors. The problem then resolved itself. That's the secret to solving problems. Remove your focus, your concentration, and the matter is free to fix itself. The result is sometimes astonishing.?

I returned to one of my earlier questions, which he had not answered. ?Gideon, were you there in the parking lot? Did you have anything to do with all this??

?No, John,? he replied. ?I was just an observer this time. The lock was no problem once you realized that you were in control of the situation. I was only watching from a kitten's perspective and enjoying every bit of it, too.?

?A kitten's perspective?? I looked at him quizzically. ?Yes, yes,? he said. ?The kitten. We shared experiences for a short while. Everybody can do that. Just a matter of focus and a little practice.?

?Interesting,? I replied. ?My friend, Gideon, becomes a kitten.?

He again gave me that tolerant schoolteacher's look and continued speaking as if he hadn't heard me.

?It's just different life forms working with one another.

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