"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"

A couple of days ago, I received a call from a new client, he gave me his last name as ‘Nelson’ and I commented back to him that my maiden name was also ‘Nelson’.

I wrote into my 'Log' his name and phone number and asked when he wanted to talk with me. After the booking, I looked back at the log and noticed written down on the column to the left, the name one of my favorite movies, “On a Clear Day, You Can See Forever”. I remember writing that movie title a few days earlier, as a note to refer to that movie in a talk.


Thinking about that movie and the client’s name of Nelson, made me think of my deceased Father who had been killed by a drunk driver when I was six years old. My thoughts of a long-ago parent and what I’ve missed by not having him in my life. Thinking of the movie and soul survival I wondered if my Father has had any influence in my life.


I walked out of my office to talk to my husband, and let him know I was going to the Post Office. He was cleaning out his lunch box, and I asked how the night before work had gone and if he had received any tips for his part-time airport taxi service. He had received a very minimal tip from a couple of elderly people. We talked for a new minutes and I said he would appreciate any ‘tip’ because most careers are ‘tip not-included’ in salary.


Our talk took a turn and though I have given much more time with each and every client and endless hours of talks, church ministry, and other activities I have only had two ‘tips’ in over 20 years of work. I had never thought of this before; nor should it ever conflict with my true intent of helping others and never should I ever feel silted or deprived or to expect otherwise because I have established a fee for my services.


So feeling confident that I have earned my income, I took hold of mail and keys in hand and headed to the car.


Settled in my bright yellow VW, I put in the keys into the ignition and on came my car radio. To my surprise Yves Montand, the star of “On a Clear Day You can See Forever” was singing this theme song! The words I heard first were,


                         “On a clear day, rise and look around you


                          And you’ll see who just prove you are.”


Catching my breath, I listened to the rest of the song.


Turning off the engine I rushed back into the house and told this story to my husband. Breathless I put together my thoughts of my Dad and the timing of Mr. Nelson asking for a session just as I would log his name next to the name of the movie, “On a Clear Day”.


I thanked my ‘Dad’, Bruce Nelson, for visiting me that day, for moving me ever so slightly to get to the car just in time to hear that song. We all need to be validated for our life’s work. I wasn’t aware that I needed to be reminded, but as with all of us in today’s climate of uncertainty we must move forward and trust that the universe has us just where we need to be.