A Race. Seen From a Bus Stop in Brooklyn. Man, Woman, Child.

I was standing in the spotlight of the sun at the bus stop across the street when I spotted her.  She was carrying a little one perched against her left side and as I glanced over, a man a few paces in front of her turned around, presumably because she had just called out to him.  I watched as they spent seconds in a verbal exchange resulting in the transfer of the little one, who enthusiastically assisted by leaning forward coupled with outstretched arms, into the waiting hands of the man.

 

 

Then the woman took the lead and began to run.  And once he held the child cradled against his body, the man began to run, too.

 

 

Thinking perhaps she was trying to catch a bus, I looked ahead in the direction she was moving in.  But there were no buses at the bus stop.  Then I looked in the direction from whence they came.  A bus was en route.

 

 

Searching the long stretch of sidewalk, I once again found the woman, now with significant distance between her and the man and child. The adults were still running.

 

 

Looking back at the bus, I hoped the driver would notice them amongst the sea of people traveling up and down the sidewalk.

 

 

When the bus passed them, I began to wonder if it would stop. Sometimes, if no one on the bus signals wanting to exit or there’s no one waiting to board at the bus stop, the drivers keep on going.

 

 

When the bus passed the stop, I quickly scanned what I could see of the sidewalk for the woman, man and child. I didn’t see them. Looking once again towards the direction of the bus, I now saw it had come to a stop a few feet past the bus stop. Sometimes, the bus drivers do that, too.

 

 

Because the bus was now blocking a stretch of the sidewalk from my view and because the bus stood still for some time, I’d like to believe that the woman, man and child were able to get on, find seats, enjoy some air conditioning and get to their destination without the need for any additional running along the way. 

Thoughts that Dropped After Meditation on 7/3/21

After meditating this morning, I found myself remembering an interaction.

Years ago, I had reached out to a friend and, partially in jest, with some truth mixed in, thanked them for “convincing” me to do such and such. They replied along the lines that they were tired of having to convince people to do things. I’m about 97% certain that I didn’t say anything that would give voice to the feelings nudging at me, requiring language. And, even with their energetic nudging, I didn’t attempt to try. Truth is, I have more language today. These days, I am more inclined to pay attention and honor the nudges. These days, I’m getting better at taking the time to give myself permission to reply in a way that feels more honoring, hopefully to all parties involved, than I was able to back then.

Today, I would say: “I think I misled you by using the word, ‘convincing.’ I should have said, ‘Thank you for making this suggestion; I’m glad I eventually took it on board.’ Please know that in our relationship, you never have to feel like you should ‘convince’ me of something. Feel free to proffer consciously weighed suggestions, feel free to gift me what you think would be helpful to me/ contribute in some way to my wellbeing. But only do it if you’ll, ultimately, be at peace if I don’t take on the suggestion, or if I decide to decline the gift, or if I don’t put the gift to use in a way that you wanted. That’s how to be the kind of friend that I need. That’s how to support me in being free in the choices that I choose to make when it comes to living my life.”

Although I didn’t say this back then, I’m grateful to have connected with it today. For me, this connecting means that, in the future, should I find myself in a situation like this, I’ll have to practice breathing slowly, checking in and based on what I find, give myself permission to speak up for myself as lovingly and as consciously as I am able to in the moment. Or if, for whatever reason, it’s not possible in the moment, then as soon as I am able.

I share in case you find any aspect of it to be helpful on this leg of your journey.

All the sincere best wishes with the rest of your day 😊

 

A Man, A Woman and a Car Door, Seen from a Sidewalk in Brooklyn

Within seconds of stepping out the front door, I had a waterfall of sweat running down my face. I knew it was hot outside, but I wanted to take a walk; I’d been inside for far too long. Luckily, every once in a while, a cool breeze would blow through and I’d give thanks for this experience of heaven. Up ahead, I briefly shared some sidewalk with an older couple walking in the opposite direction. A segment of her fine, shoulder length gray hair, met in a ponytail, while the rest flowed, unbound. And a portion of his crown of gray may have been a result of having a hand run through it, or perhaps, was courtesy of the aforementioned godsend of a breeze. She was shorter to his tall. He was lanky to her tidy. Both were wearing glasses. She had been standing on the sidewalk before he exited a building. Meeting, they struck up a conversation as they made their way to a parked car a few feet away. She was headed to the passenger’s side, but then he upped his pacing, crossed behind her, and arrived in time to hold the door open. As she slid in, she made eye contact with me as I was looking back at them. She couldn’t have missed the lingering smile on my face; I was just so tickled that he had purposely reached the car first in order to open the door for her.