Today I went for a long walk down by Charles River Park. I went down there to check out a sofa and chair that were advertised on Craig’s List (I’m a bit addicted to Craig’s List and search for furniture and jobs on it almost every day). The sofa was too big for my space and a bit too worn for me.
I took the Red Line down to South Station, walked from there, then walked back through Faneuil Hall. I’d never been to the high rises that make up Charles River Park although I’ve facilitated workshops at MGH (Mass. General Hospital) before. Today was one of those crisp fall days that I find perfect to walk in. That whole area is a combination of old buildings and new places and it’s teeming with people: touristy people, government workers, court workers, people on their way to court, etc. I have always loved walking – it is one of the times I feel freest and I bask in the glory of being anonymous. I people watch along the way, eavesdrop on conversations, and sidestep traffic and congestion.
The day started out with a minor irritation. Someone stole two of the three pumpkins I had on my front steps in between fall flower baskets. My arrangements looked so pretty. That’s a bummer. A violation.
I took the Red Line down to South Station, walked from there, then walked back through Faneuil Hall. I’d never been to the high rises that make up Charles River Park although I’ve facilitated workshops at MGH (Mass. General Hospital) before. Today was one of those crisp fall days that I find perfect to walk in. That whole area is a combination of old buildings and new places and it’s teeming with people: touristy people, government workers, court workers, people on their way to court, etc. I have always loved walking – it is one of the times I feel freest and I bask in the glory of being anonymous. I people watch along the way, eavesdrop on conversations, and sidestep traffic and congestion.
The day started out with a minor irritation. Someone stole two of the three pumpkins I had on my front steps in between fall flower baskets. My arrangements looked so pretty. That’s a bummer. A violation.
- I hope that whoever stole my pumpkins needed them and could not afford to buy them on their own.
- Perhaps it was a mother or father who had promised their children a pumpkin and couldn’t afford to buy one.
- They saw that I had three and therefore felt I had some to space. (I actually probably would have given them away if someone had rang the doorbell and asked.)
- Perhaps it was a couple of kids who have no impulse control and saw something that they wanted and took it.
- The pumpkins weren’t large. Next time I’ll get large ones that will require more effort to move.
- Maybe a baker took them and will leave some delicious pumpkin muffins or roasted pumpkins seeds in a tin for me tomorrow.
I was bummed and ticked-off for a quick minute and then I let it go until I sat down to write tonight.
I practice the art of not wanting what I cannot have. Life is easier that way. I virtually never go window shopping. I tend to only shop when I have money and a mission. If you stay out of stores, it’s quite easy not to have a lot of desires. I pretend shop with catalogues that stay in my life for a few weeks and then I recycle them. For the time that the catalogue items are circled or the pages folded over – I return to them a dozen or so times and they feel like mine as I imagine them in my closet, on my person, or in my home. Then, I snap to reality or another batch of magazines and catalogs arrive and I have to cull to make room for new ones.
I try not to covet what other people have. I just want my own stuff. I’m also trying to appreciate what I already have. It is hard sometimes not to be envious. To wonder why them and not you. I have my moments but they tend to be few and short-lived.
When it is your turn in life, it is your turn and when it’s not, it just ain’t. Continued efforts are the water that will prime the pump to help us get some of what we want, sooner or later.
Enough! Signing off.