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A Matter of Perspective

Francesca Silva

wheelchair.JPGAs I mentioned in a recent blog, a couple of weeks ago I had to take my car in for repairs and, since it was a sunny day, I decided to walk back to the mechanic’s to pick it up.

I do that drive almost every day on my way to and from home. Well, walking instead of driving gave me a totally different perspective of that route. I never realized how much I was missing by keeping my eyes on the road when driving (which is highly recommended, of course).

For one thing, I never realized how lovingly people care for their gardens and front lawns. I could smell the fresh grass as I enjoyed looking at all the variety of flowers that were in full bloom. There were several people out and about and we smiled at one another with a friendly “hi’.”

As I walked up to a traffic light, I came across a senior sitting in a wheelchair on his front lawn, so I stopped to say hello. I’d driven past him many times – I always waved to him and he waved back cheerfully. He said he recognized me by my car (“black civic, licence plate number ____”) and he appreciated my always greeting him with a wave.

We chatted for a while and he told me he enjoyed sitting on his front lawn, people-watching. “You might not believe it but you can get a good perspective of people just by watching them as they drive by. There are those who take a moment to wave, like you do – and then there are others who are too busy rushing, rushing, rushing, so impatient to be somewhere that they’re missing out on experiencing the joy of being in the present and enjoying the beauty that nature has given us.”

I confessed how I’m often like that – rushing to be somewhere – and he smiled and said, “Just don’t forget to occasionally stop and smell the roses and you’ll be fine.” He then reached over to his nearby rose bush, plucked a beautiful peach rose and handed it to me.

We chatted a little more before I went on my way, every so often turning and waving until we lost sight of each other. I picked up my car and waved to him again on my way home. He responded with a grin and a thumbs-up sign, mouthing “See? Black civic!” Since then, I’ve driven past a few times – he’s always there when the weather’s good, and we’ve now progressed from smiling and waving to blowing each other a kiss.

My rose has of course wilted now but before it did I gently pulled out some petals and pressed them into one of my favourite books as a reminder of a wonderful gentleman who gave me precious advice on the importance of living in the moment.

[tags]different perspective, walking, importance of living, take a moment, nature, joy[/tags]

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