THOUGHTS AND TRAFFIC
The other
day I was sitting in the shade of a lovely tree, watching the traffic
go by, as I waited for an appointment. Cars pulled up at the traffic
lights, far enough away for privacy, but close enough that I could see
many of the faces waiting for the green light.
A very aged looking man was waiting
patiently in the traffic. He looked quite dignified, perhaps compared
to some of the tradesman in other vehicles nearby. I guessed him to be
in his late eighties and wondered what changes he had seen in his
lifetime. His car was a very modern little thing. I thought about his
potential childhood and how any car would have been a big deal back
then, and wondered what his first car looked like, compared to the one
he now drove.
Even in my own time, I have seen so many changes - and I am only about
half of the old man's age. I watched Ernie and Bert from Sesame Street
go from black and white to colour (which was a pretty amazing as a
kid). I have watched vegetarianism become mainstream, thank goodness.
Banks have given up valuing loyal customers and now charge for the
luxury of even providing a bank account. Seat belts have become
compulsory. Smoking is banned indoors in our country. Fax machines have
arrived, as have computers, the Internet, mobile phones, fast cars,
fast living, and so many other things. Even handwritten Christmas cards
are almost extinct, giving way to group emails or electronic
cards.
So what must a man of double-my-age have seen in his lifetime, I wondered? Yet, here he was, adjusting to life in modern times, going with the flow, waiting patiently at the traffic lights, and still driving himself to town, with independence.
In the next flow of traffic halted at the same red light, I observed a young guy with incredible impatience, growing more and more agitated waiting for the lights to change, all the while his music blaring out the windows. When the lights did change, he almost ended up in the backseat of the car in front of him due to such impatience. I wondered about his story and what could genuinely be so important to create such angst within him. I felt sorry for him, really. So much learning still to do. When he could, he managed to change lanes and overtake most of the other cars, only to find himself waiting at yet another set of lights. I wondered what he would see in his lifetime and at what point he may slow down enough to notice.
Every day there are opportunities to people-watch and in doing so, many unexpected lessons can be presented to us, due to the relaxed state and floating thoughts. In the twenty or so minutes that I sat under the tree, I marvelled at many lovely aspects of humanity, as well as considered some not-so-favourable aspects.
I also saw a young mum singing to her child, of about four years old. She was also pushing a stroller with two younger children in it, one a toddler and one a babe. It was a weight to push and the day was getting very hot (hence my sitting in the shade in the first place). Yet here she was, singing and happy with her three children, getting on with her day walking up an incline while impatient drivers sat in traffic nearby. Doesn't attitude make a difference?!
I wondered about the stories of all who passed me, as I sat under that tree and thought about how many books or movies could be created simply from the lives of the people passing by that one little intersection. This led me to thinking about the beauty of humanity again, with compassion for who we are as a species. We have made so many mistakes and definitely need our own and each other's compassion. Yet, we are all beautiful in our humanness too, trying to get on with our lives in the mad societies we have created as a whole. I just hope that as a species, we continue to make the necessary changes for the survival and happiness of our species and of our magnificent planet.
There is a great website that I was introduced to last year. It is called 'We Feel Fine'. It is well worth the visit (www.wefeelfine.org). Basically, the creators have very cleverly put together a program of word recognition that is used to peruse blogs worldwide, recognising the words 'I feel'. You get to read a line about how people are feeling, from all parts of the world. It reinforces yet again, how much we all have in common. You can choose one country, one feeling, one age-group, or just click randomly to read the honest thoughts that each dot represents.
It was a similar observation for me this day under the shade at the traffic lights. People may not have been blogging their feelings, but they were showing them naturally just by going about their day.
Everyone has a story. And none of us can know the whole of another's story, as we have not walked in their shoes. But there is goodness in everyone, even those who have not yet tapped into it themselves, those who show only their unpleasantness. Even they have goodness within.
Taking the time to people-watch is a wonderful thing, even more so when the opportunity presents itself unexpectedly.
Have a wonderful day friends, and if you see someone watching you, then consider that just perhaps, you have inspired them to have some unexpected insight, simply for the unconscious role you may have just played in their day.
We are all more connected than we will ever realise. We have more in common than we realise. And especially, we are all far more beautiful than we will ever realise.
