First published Sept 30, 2017
I thought I had to be there at 11. It turned out, I didn’t start until 1. I could have slept in. I haven’t been sleeping well, been waking up in the night, restless when I do sleep. Those extra hours in the morning are precious. Or, if I woke early anyway, I could have relaxed on my sunny balcony with a good book (The Delight of Being Ordinary is wonderful!) and a cup of tea. I could have walked by the river all the way to the Forks and had a slow cup of coffee there.
However. It turns out that my messed up head and endlessly wrong calendar may have had a meaning that (gasp) was not all about me.
With two hours empty in front of me, I decided to go home. I took the bus to save every open moment of my free two hours, and goodness, did I feel impatient waiting for the light to change a block before my stop.
The bus driver chatted through the open door with a waiting passenger at the bus stop. They spoke another language, and the passenger looked concerned, very focused on the driver. He seemed to offer a hand of comfort as the light changed and the bus carried irritable me to my stop.
“Not a good day for me,” the driver said.
He told me that he’d been in an accident earlier that day. The car scooted in front of him and he couldn’t stop in time. Those buses are huge. I don’t think I could drive one.
My perspective changed quickly (and about time, too). I stopped looking at miserable me and looked at him. He was worried, scared, and still had the rest of his shift to get through driving the monster. The only time I was in an accident, I was terrified of driving for months afterward.
I felt an enormous sweep of compassion for him. I don’t know if scientists are ready to say that shared energy is a thing, but I shared it anyway.
Blessings, sympathy, prayer, good vibes, strong energy: I let all of that goodness pour in a soft swirl to lift him. I saw his face relax. I felt my sorry gut relax. It could have been only my smile that did it. I don’t know.
“I’m sorry,” I offered. “I’ll be thinking of you today.”
I walked home for my brief respite before work. It would have been nice to sleep in this morning, but I think I’ll sleep better tonight than I have in a while.
Also, I met this squirrel.
I think he had something to tell me.
If you like the idea that prayer works, that energy can make its way through the air to someone far away, that quiet, good thoughts can make their way to someone who needs a boost, could you give some of that loveliness to the bus driver now?
The way I see it, even if my skeptical friends are right and it’s all malarkey, your meditative moments will make you feel calmer, more peaceful, happier. And that will touch the people around you today. Who knows, maybe one of those people will be the bus driver’s supervisor, or his wife, or the driver of the scooting car.