The little things of life.

 

Dreams and Visions.

We have all at one time or another had those disappointing moments that we thought would never happen to us. Those things that left us feeling shattered feeling that the world had dropped for us. I suppose the most obvious of those would be the date that never turned up or the love that was rejected. 

I can remember this very clearly. There I was all dressed in my best togs standing at the bus station waiting for my date to arrive. The bus came and went, maybe she had missed it I would wait for the next one to arrive.  She never showed up.  

It made me feel ugly and unworthy and abandoned.  I thought she may have seen me from a distance and decided she had made a terrible mistake.  All sorts of negative thoughts were running through my mind.  Then, as I left the bus stance alone, I heard a little girl ask her mother if I was a film star.  

It made me smile and changed my mindset.  I decided to walk the long way home, and I truly took it in – the fresh air, the peaceful solitude, the moonlight glistening off the bushes and pavement.  And I realised being alone right now was exactly what I needed. I used the walk to contemplate what I was doing with my life.

So often it is those moments that turn your life around. The little things that people say and do.

I remember an afternoon I was sitting on a park bench eating a sandwich in Dunfermline where I worked. It was very peaceful and I was feeling content when an elderly couple pulled their car under a nearby tree.  They wound down the windows and turned up some funky jazz music on the car radio.  I liked jazz, and still do. It still reminds me of the happy times I had when I played jazz. But I was enjoying the peace and they were disturbing it.

Then the man got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, opened the door for the old woman. He took her hand and helped her out of her seat, guided her about ten feet away from the car,  and they slow danced to a song under the tree. Even now I can still feel the tears running down my cheeks. Here was somebody showing how much he appreciated this dear old lady. It mattered not that youth had gone they danced for two tunes and then returned to the car. As he helped her in he gave her a kiss and off they went. 

Yes, I am feeling sentimental but please allow me that as I spend my last few hours in France the place of love and romance.

I wish to share another true tale with hopefully giving you enough food for thought for the next day or so. I will not be able to post for at least one day.

I was given a school project that had to include at least one interview with somebody who was or had faced a really difficult time. The theme of the project was to be either, "The moving hand of time," or "Life speeds past us."

One of my mothers' friends was seriously ill and aware that life was drawing to a close. I now know she had terminal cancer but did not know that at the time. With the brashness of youth, I went to visit her and asked if I could interview her. Of course, I did not fully grasp the situation but she was gentle and kind with me and answered all of my questions about the changes she had seen in her life.

I then asked her about her illness, with little or no tact at all. I asked her, "Mrs Findlay, what is it like to wake up every morning and know that you are dying?" 

She looked at me so gently and said, "What is it like to waken up every morning and pretend that you are not?

So often we all do just that.

Have a thoughtful moment and a good day.