Treasure Hunt, the Return

Today at lunch, I went on a second solo treasure hunt. I got the following clues:

• Location: two specific locations in the mall
• Names: Billy, Robert, Sam, Gary
• Appearance: green and large, metal belt buckle
• Prayer needs: Mom, aspirin
• Unusual: a symbol consisting of circle with a superimposed arrow tilting up and to the right

I went to the first of the two locations and waited there. After a bit, a man, a woman, and two children sat next to me. The man wore clothing that I consider similar to that worn by gang members and had a fairly elaborate collection of visible tatoos. These put me off. But they held hands and prayed before eating what looked to me like a snack but may have been a meal for them. And, they had a light rather than dark spiritual feel to their interactions. So, I decided to approach them.

I briefly explained what I was doing and passed them my list of clues, hoping they'd find a match. While he scanned the list, the man more or less repeated what I'd told him I was up to, apparently making sure he understood correctly. He then signaled approval by saying, "Cool!" or something like that. Ultimately, they were unable to match themselves against any of the clues. I gave them a blessing and returned to my seat.

In retrospect, I think I should have pressed them harder about possible prayer needs. But, they were my first actual candidate treasures. So, I don't want to be too hard on myself. I think the experience was mutually pleasant for them and me.

After some additional time, I felt an urge to move on to the second specific location. I sat down across from what I took to be a grandmother and her young granddaughter, who was in a stroller. Soon thereafter, what I took to be the girl's mother arrived. The two women conversed quietly. But, I heard enough to know that the grandmother was talking about having experienced acute fear and oppression in a recent situation, which had been an unprecented and unpleasant experience for her. Her body language told me that she was not likely open to my approach. So, I silently prayed off any affliction. I hope that my prayers were successful.

Thereafter, I returned to my original location. There, I saw an unaccompanied woman who seemed bored or anxious, probably the latter. I was working on finding the boldness to approach her when I spotted a young man wearing a John Lennon t-shirt bearing the hippy symbols of the 1960s, which seemed to me to closely resemble the symbol I'd pictured. Unfortunately, he got away from me before I found the boldness to approach him. And, though I tried to follow him, I did not see him again during the few minutes that remained before my planned time of departure for a medical appointment.

In all, this was a good experience for me. And, I think it was a good experience for those whom I met or prayed for as well. I am encouraged and eager for another go.