This week’s blog has a very different vibe from the past few postings, which were a bit on the serious side. I am thinking that my theme this week is observation. Yes, observation of ourselves and also the world around us. In the practice of F.M.Alexander’s work we are taught to pause and become more aware. Usually we think of this attribute in the context of preventing ourselves from hurting ourselves physically or doing some other action for which we will be sorry, or embarrassed, for example, anger management. This time, I wish to switch to another really beautiful outcome from slowing down and taking the time to notice. Every so often we all have experiences which are mind-blowing and memorable, in a wonderfully refreshing way.
This week I had one of those experiences while getting gas in my car. I pulled into the gas station. Before I had time to open the window and find my credit card, the attendant was standing there. I was also a bit distracted because one of my contact lenses was causing my eye to water; I kept wiping at my eye to clear the tear. The beautiful, smiling young woman waiting to take my card asked me if I was crying, sounding genuinely concerned. I sensed her concern, smiled and assured her I had a lens issue. She took my card, started filling the tank, and returned my card. Still my eye kept watering and I kept wiping it. Next, this young woman returned with my reciept, gave me the sweetest smile and said, “whatever you are crying about, it will be all right.” Then, she disappeared to help someone else. Even though I was not sad nor was I really crying, I felt a warmth and appreciaton for this stranger who obviously cared how another human being was feeling and acted upon that concern. What a lesson! I will not forget her and the lesson she taught me about observing what is happening outside myself. I will also get gas at this station when I can, with hope of seeing her again!
This delightful experience reminded me of another time many years ago. Late one evening I was riding the subway in New York City. The car was fairly full and I noticed two young girls sitting across the aisle; they appeared to be high school age. The doors opened and a lady entered; in haste, I almost dismissed her as another bizarre subway person. Picture this-and I am not making this up! She wore a hat that consisted of a paper plate with real cooked spaghetti with sauce on it. Very bizzarre, indeed. What I observed next was the lesson. The girls gave her huge smiles and exclaimed, “Louise, how are you you? We have missed you.” They were very obviously genuinely delighted to see their friend and got up to give her a seat. Louise explained that she had been sick with a cold, then said, “What would you like me to sing?” Instantly they said, almost together, “the Mocking Bird Song”. She sang! The girls looked at her with so much admiration. Soon the girls got off, said good-bye and were gone. The memory of this experience has made me smile often through the years. Though I have riden that train often since, I have never seen Louise again; I will not forget her.
We never know when these wonderful experiences will pop up. They are the ones which reinforce how important it is to be alert to what is happening around us as we go about our everyday tasks. Life’s delightful surprises. Here again while writing I smile, I breathe, and in the stillness, I remember Louise and the gas station attendant doing her job on a sunny day in October.