The sun sets on another day…
Sunset shimmered and sputtered light across the western sky as the clouds rolled in. Still, high above, sunset was spectacular/
I don’t necessarily have a social conference at all. I think this has been well proven. Today, while wandering through a local thrift store that was absolutely full of just about anything and everything, I found myself dodging people back and forth trying to avoid accidentally crushing those who push their way through with heads down and don’t necessarily pay attention until they run into me.
Being a little larger than most usually means having to pay hyper attention to everyone to ensure that I’m not in the middle of something I shouldn’t be. With that in mind I am constantly taking a step back and, or, spending an extra moment watching while others are oblivious. This often leads to good conversations, good fun, and meeting good people, or at least good stories.
As those who know me are aware, I have a series of strange words that I use to try to not to be like everyone else. I get tired of the idea that people are “fine” and that “excuse me” or “pardon me” can be just a pleasantry that doesn’t really mean anything except to validate some lost social stigma.
As I was turning the corner today in this maze of a shop, I almost ran in to a young lady who I noticed was taller than most. She was probably 5’10 and at that height was larger than many people if not all but me in the store. As I made space and walked around I said “excuse me little one”. The result was a giggly conversation for a few minutes because she apparently was not called “little” by anyone and it was funny to her. It was as funny to me because she became engaged and was more than pleasant conversationalist. It was a few moments, but it was a good few moments that I will commit to memory.
This is where we all should take a moment. So many people walk by day by day and don’t pay attention to the people around them. If we are all “two ships that pass in the night”, we may not even acknowledge that others exist and we could miss out on an amazing laugh, a fun conversation, or just a slice of time that makes us feel like the world is a better place.
What’s your preference? Do you engage with people freely and find a pocket of solace in the smile from someone you may never see again? Do you hide away and avoid everything and in doing so potentially miss out on all of the possibilities that life may hand you? How do you handle being alive?
For me, I will continue to engage people and take things to the ultimate limit everyday. I want nothing more out of life than to enjoy life. I don’t have to do that alone but I can, it would be a lot more fun to randomly enjoy other people, and get a kick out of the world around us. Plus, if I say something stupid enough, maybe I’ll even get a laugh from someone I don’t know.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
So as the sun sets on another day, I hope you engage life with zest, zeal, and maybe with a zebra. I hope you see the black and white before you, and the black and white on that zebra, where did the zebra come from? Life is out here to be lived. We’re all in this together. Let’s talk to each other, laugh with each other, live with each other, and love with each other, and somewhere along the way we’ll make the world a better place no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love life, and zebras would be fun to ride…