July
17, 2017
Greetings from
the beholden,
Dear
Randomness,
I want to take
this opportunity to express my gratitude for providing the bedlam that adds the
spice to my normal days. There is no particular event that precipitates this thank
you; I am actually being as random as you are.
To be honest, I didn’t even know I was going to write these words when I
started the paragraph.
You know I
would prefer to align your chaotic approach with my own linear plans, but so
far you have resisted, and I guess after six decades I am going to have to
defer to your better judgment. Well, at
least your relentlessness.
I’ll have to
admit that whenever you arrange to have me stuck in traffic I’m not immediately
appreciative of the opportunity. But, given
a moment to consider, I realize that the extra time in my car gives me a chance
to punch the ‘search’ button on the radio over and over and sometimes that
produces a song I haven’t heard in a while.
So it’s a random win-win.
The other
unexpected benefit of trafficus-interruptus is that making me just a little bit
late for my appointment gives me empathy for people who show up late to meet
me. I am now less critical and more
forgiving. Not always in the exact
moment I need to be, usually later when it doesn’t matter, but I’m getting
closer to making it work.
This sock that
finally turned up, that was a priceless lesson.
Of course I had only just given up on it and thrown away its mate so now
I have a different dilemma, but hey, the irony gave me a laugh.
Running out of
gas last week was not as welcome as you might think. I mean later I realized what a great lesson it
was, but in the moment it was not my favorite thing. I will say that I gained a whole new respect
for that guy who stands on the side of the expressway ramp and begs for spare
change. And for the people who wait at
the bus stop just eighteen inches from a bazillion cars rocketing by. I also have a new respect for gas gauges that
behave logically instead of in random fashion.
There are so
many great arbitrary moments while I run, I hardly know where to begin.
Hard to beat
that huge bug I swallowed though. Man, I
can’t thank you enough for that experience.
You got it to me just in time so it wedged in my craw just in that
special place between swallowing and inhaling, but not convincing enough so I
felt tempted to try to cough it out. It
really reminded me that I need to drink more water, so it was a blessing.
And running
into that guy whose name I can never remember at the coffee shop, that’s always
enjoyable. Every time we have a great
conversation and we promise we are going to get together. Which we really will as soon as I can figure
out who he is. It will be great. Maybe you could nudge him back to Starbucks
so I can get his number. And perhaps
somehow have him randomly mention his name.
All the
arbitrary interruptions that you produce in a day are probably what save me
from becoming the colossal bore I have worked so hard to grow into. Every inconvenience that derails that
direction is really my salvation, in spite of what it feels like in the
moment.
One of the
luxuries I indulge in when I have the patience is to sit still and be quiet
long enough for you to help me produce random thoughts. Out of the dusty corners and shadowy belfry
of my mind these ideas and memories and inspirations wander, uninhibited by
agenda. It is sometimes unsettling, but
most often I find myself saying ‘Aha!’ as if I actually created something. (‘Aha’ is not literally what I say. I am boring but not that boring.)
Probably the
only way I’ll make new friends, try new food, take chances on a new way to the
grocery store, is if you derail me from my routine by supplying the chaos that
you do so well.
Anyway, before
you choose to crash my computer or have a Jehovah’s Witness knock at the door
to make my life more interesting, I just want to say this: thank you.
Hope
this finds you taking a chance,
David
Copyright
© 2017 David Smith
No comments:
Post a Comment