Everyone says there are Seven Wonders of the World, but I know there are really Eight. The Eighth being my television remote.
Sure, it looks like a regular old remote, made of plastic and metal and little rubber buttons, but this remote is special. This remote has been to the Other Side and back.
And lived to tell!
Like every miracle story, this one started in crisis. And what bigger crisis is there, really, than an impaired television remote?
I really shouldn’t complain. When I was a kid, we didn’t even have a TV remote. We had to walk three miles through the blinding snow just to change the channel.
photo: Al Camardella Jr. on flikr
So I suppose I should have been happy that my remote dedicated a few years of its life to serve my entertainment needs. And I appreciated that, I did.
But I was still shocked when one day, out of the blue, my darling little remote stopped working.
Change the channel? I don’t think so. Turn down the volume? Not a chance, pal.
Given that my television was still under warranty, and given that I’m a hard-core appliance nerd who reads all my manuals and saves all my warranties and service agreements, I went to my appliance file and pulled out the relevant information.
It just so happened that my television was purchased at Costco. One reason I purchased it there was for their killer warranty plans. You can practically bequeath your appliances to your great-grandchildren and Costco will still cover them.
So it was with great confidence that I dialed the number to the Warranty People on the Costco receipt.
I figured the friendly folks on the other end of the line would give me the number of a place I could take the remote or TV for servicing. Either that, or they’d have me ship them to a factory for repair.
But no.
“I can take care of this over the phone,” said the Warranty Guy.
“Really?” I said.
I’m sure I sounded skeptical. Warranty Guy didn’t care. He had to deal with people like me all day. He wasn’t going to let my resistance phase him.
“Here’s what you do,” said WG. “First you unplug the television.”
“What?” I said.
I was starting to wonder if I was on a modern-day Candid Camera. Next thing I knew, flying monkeys were going to come bursting out of the television. And hidden cameras would film my wacky-and-baffled expression.
“Okaaaaay,” I said.
I unplugged my TV.
“Did you do it?” asked WG.
What? He didn’t trust me? Apparently my lack of faith was oozing through the phone line.
“I did!” I said, cheerily.
“Cool,” said WG. “Now take the batteries out of the remote.”
This time I didn’t resist. I just did it. Clearly, WG was from another planet. One where you blindly do things that make No Sense Whatsoever.
“Okay,” I said. “The batteries are out of the remote.”
“Great,” said WG. “Now here’s the tricky part.”
I coughed. The tricky part? I checked the TV for flying monkeys. No monkeys. At least not yet.
“Yes,” said WG. “I want you to press the power button on the TV. Then aim the remote toward the television. Then press the power button of the remote for fifteen seconds. Can you do that?”
I wanted to point out that the television was not plugged in. And the remote had no batteries in it. But WG knew that.
“Sure,” I said. “I can do that.”
I felt like a little kid, playing make-believe. I’m going to press this button here, and then I’m going to press this other little button there, and it’s going to turn me into the commander of a space ship that’s going to fly me to the moon and back in twenty-three minutes! In a ship commandeered by flying monkeys!
photo: Ian Irving on flikr
Right.
In spite of how foolish I felt, I did as I was told. I pushed the buttons on my disabled appliances and held them down for fifteen seconds.
After the allotted time had passed, WG said, “Okay. You’re done.”
“Done?” I said.
“Yup,” he said. He sounded extremely proud of himself.
I still felt as though I were being punk’d. I’d probably misdialed and some kid was sitting on his couch in Rhode Island, snickering at the silly person on the other end of the line who was following his bizarre and random instructions.
“Yup,” he said again. “Plug in the TV and power up the remote. You should be just fine.”
“Right now?” I said.
“Uh . . . . yeah,” said WG. In spite of all my balking, he was being extremely patient with me.
“Alright,” I said. I plugged in the TV and put the batteries back in the remote.
“Now use the remote to turn on the TV,” said WG.
And that’s when it happened. The miracle.
I pressed the power button on the remote, and my television sparked to life.
“Whoah,” I said. My mouth fell open.
“Cool, eh?” said WG.
“Yeah,” I said. “Cool.”
There are a lot of things that are awesome about this story. There’s the fact that my remote was restored to perfect health. And there’s the fact that it got fixed over the phone.
But here’s my favorite part.
What happened with my remote is just what happens to all of us, every day.
We may not know it, but Spirit is always working in our lives. Even when we’ve yanked our cords out of the walls. Or thrown the batteries out of our remotes.
We may be doing absolutely nothing to be “spiritual”. We may have given up. It doesn’t matter. The Divine Creative Energy is always there, invisibly and imperceptibly working Its magic in our lives.
photo: Vinoth Chandar on flikr
In fact, it’s often when we’ve abandoned our usual tactics, when we’ve given up on trying to make things happen in the customary and conventional ways, that the Divine really takes over.
The Unseen is magic. It works miracles.
Just ask my television remote.
What have been your miracles? When has the Divine surprised you?
Inspiring story…..and educational too! Thanks!
You’re welcome! Not sure if it will work with other tvs or remotes, but it’s worth a try. Plus magic is always afoot. . . .
Oh that’s just too bizarre for words! But u r right! Even when we think we are completely disconnected, we are still connected by some unseen Force!
Hi Naava!!
Yes, it was extremely strange. So of course I had to make a blog post out of it! And I love how Spirit shows up in the strangest places . . . .
Happy Tuesday!
XOZ
what kind of tv/remote combo do YOU have?? i have to get me one of those. i wonder if they make computers like that? 🙂
good morning, z. happy tuesday! miracles… i like calling them “normacles” because there’s nothing magical or weird about them. like any natural law, the law of mind works perfectly all the time and we get to watch it work in our lives in every moment. we get to see normacles unfold perfectly as long as we get ourselves out of the way.
it’s like gravity and a jar of pickle relish. if we catch a falling jar of pickle relish, it doesn’t change the law of gravity but it hinders it from splattering the relish all over the ground. when i am in the way, not surrendering, trying to do things my own way, i act as groping hands for my good. the law is still working, but i have hindered it from manifesting my good. once i let go and allow the relish jar to fall, the universe is allowed to splatter my good all over me…. messy analogy but it’s less graphic than the tightrope walker/net analogy that came to mind. o.O
my list of normacles? too long to write here but it is really a list of things for which i am grateful. the biggest normacle in my life is the fact that i’m alive. my mom was told by 3 different doctors that she was physically incapable of getting pregnant. i flat-lined inutero, put many, many things in my body in large quantities that generally kill or send people to the hospital, i hit a mountain almost head-on at 40 mph and rolled my car a couple of times. and i’m still here. who knew? it’s a normacle. i guess i’m not done on the planet and i may have something to contribute. pretty dope.
have a blessed day, z!
xos
Happy Tuesday, you Normacle you!
I appreciate the pickle relish metaphor. Does this mean that every time something really cool happens – or I mean, a normacle happens – I’m going to smell like vinegar? Because I’m okay with that, I just want to know ahead of time. 😉
And I’m grateful for all your normacles as well. Especially because it means you’re still here!!!
XOZ
Loved the post, and Squirrel’s “normacles.” I’ve found my own method of turning it over to Spirit when it comes to electronics. I put the offending appliance in my car and drive it around for 20 min. or so. TV, remote control, printer, stereo receiver…pretty much whatever I rely on that breaks.
Perhaps Spirit just likes a nice drive through the countryside–I don’t know. But, by the time I arrive home, plug in the appliance, and give it another shot, IT WORKS!
LOL. Perhaps the appliances are honored that you’re willing to chauffer them around. Or perhaps it’s similar to the crying baby syndrome, where a drive in the car soothes them into slumber. Although in the case of the appliances, it’s a different sort of soothing. I’m happy to have another tool in my arsenal for appliance-fixing!! XOZ
You’ve inspired me to try and fix MY remote – wish me luck! And I appreciated the reference to Spirit as magic because that’s how I view it too. Spirit resides in the miracle and is a place of wonder and awe. Thx Z!
Good luck with the remote! I’ll be curious to see if it works with other tv/remote combos. And here’s to Magic!! 🙂 XOZ
Cool! Love the story. I would have been very skeptical, too.
Hi Fran,
Good to know that there’s another skeptic out there! The world needs us!!! 🙂
XOZ
Thanks Z, I love your story. Electronic metaphysics rate right up there with plumbing metaphysics for pure delight blended with spiritual insights. However they work, there’s magic afoot.
Hi Mary,
Great to see you here!! Plumbing metaphysics, eh? Hmmmmm. Now I’m curious. . . .
XOZ
Hi Z,
Love your story, do you think your technique will work for the 7 dead remotes to as many unknown devices? Who knows what might suddenly spring to life!
Hi Julie,
Sounds to me like it might be worth an experiment in Spirit!! Your house may never be the same again. . .
XOZ
Love, love, love your posts! Always makes me smile, chuckle, gather my gratefulness and lighten up. ~L
Hi Laura,
Good to see you here! Happy to contribute to your chuckling. 😉
XOZ
I wanted to try this out so I could see if it worked. So the other morning I took the battery out of my car and threw my car keys in the clouded pond near my driveway. Then I sat for a very long time in my car praying for it to start.
And the realization came loud and clear…
Faith is in fact everything, but one definitely needs the parts of the vehicle to get there. Unplug, take out the batteries, readjust the perception, wait 15 seconds put the parts back together and then turn the key. (Good thing I had a spare key in the house!)
(This was a dramatization as I am not actually that literal)
Hey Shem,
This is awesome! Even though it was a dramatization, I can see it clearly in my mind. I think you may be onto something. This could probably work with airplanes and buses too. And computers. But really, it’s all about faith. And hardware. Faith and Hardware – could be the name of a band. You’ve given me much to ponder.
Thanks for stopping by. . . .
XOZ