Monday, November 17, 2008

It really is that simple!

Monday morning. As usual running a little late to work. Trying hard to get past the overloaded trucks, crazy bikers, equally impatient cars. Honking, manoeuvring, cursing.

Finally stuck at a traffic signal. Using the time to run through the to-do-list to be tackled soon as i get to work. And getting exasperated at the idiot behind who is honking despite the signal being red.

In the middle of all this irritation, i glance at the sidewalk, wondering if walking would have gotten me faster to work. And i spot this guy going by. Seems like a daily-wage worker. Two nylon bags - one filled with what looks like saw & hammer and the other with his lunch box. And walking bare feet. Nothing unusual - except for this broad smile on his face. I look hard to see if he actually has a cell phone or some ear phone connected to some kind of audio device. But NOTHING at all. Some memory playing on his mind that's making him smile. And the smile doesn't get any smaller as he waits to cross the road. In fact, it gets bigger as i see him cross and go past me. Completely oblivious to the world but somewhere deeply connected to his own life.

For a moment, i wonder what he might be reliving in his mind. But it does not matter. The smile is enough to help me tide over the monday morning blues, the traffic, the cacophony.

And as i drive on, the morning seems different. and my mind is cocooned by the image of that smile.....

.....it really is that simple to pause, breathe, let your back relax and take things in your stride!

Thank you, Mr. Carpenter!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How humbling. Thanks for sharing.

ps. You drive to work?!