The old man in the road

This is my "Little" Post #1:

Yesterday I was driving across town for a meeting and although I was not late, I suppose I was driving a wee bit over the speed limit. As I was coming around a corner, I could see this old man, and I say old man because he had long grey hair and a very weathered face. Its possible he was missing some teeth and had been wearing the same pants and stained t-shirt for months. So he could have been younger than his outside self was showing. It is also possible that he was wearing a necklace - a thin black leather band accompanied by several charms hanging over his upper chest. The event that followed was strange and my first thought after the encounter was - pay attention to the signs.

I could see him weaving through the stopped traffic on the opposite side. All of a sudden he jumped in front of my car shouting at me to "slow down, slow down - you are too fast, too fast" - all the while shaking his furious hand at my windshield and looking me directly in the eye.

Luckily I had been slowing down already. And I obviously stopped. In my uncomfortable nervousness with the situation I motioned for him to move along. I impatiently told him to "go, go" pointing to the sidewalk. As if I was in a rush. He eventually through his arms up in the air as if he was giving up on me and half hobbled, half ran across the remaining street.

I must admit I was a little shaken. And then I started thinking. He is right. I need to slow down and not drive so fast to and through life, my relationships, my art, my writing, my everything. As the great Ferris Bueller once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I am going to look around and do it often. The beauty of this morning included that leaf pattern in my almond milk foam floating on top of my latte. I slowed down, even if just for a moment, to enjoy its perfection.