...so I turn a corner
…so I turn a corner, flanked with rising skyscrapers and wafting aroma of fresh-baked croissants. Strangers in their fancy clothes, sipping coffee from one hand, eyes fixated to their digital pal on the other. Scroll, tap, scroll scroll, sip, tap, scroll, tap tap, sip…
…weaving through a colony of what look like robots, averting eye contact, tuning out to La La Land, crossing streets, ignoring honks, avoiding turds, solo conversing, occasional staring, on a never-ending gold-digging quest…
…8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year, unknown years a life, 0 life an hour…
…small talks, fake smiles, saying yes, good impressions, earning gold, a pat on the back, lavish title, securing status quo. Like me please. Notice me. Promote me. I do not care about you. I want you to give & provide. I do not want to ruin my image. I demand your respect…
…I am comfortable. I am safe. Do not burst my personal bubble, so stay away. I like who I am. I am satisfied. I have some friends. I am loved. I am not one of those people who say they are happy, but they are suffering inside…
…but you know what? I am scared. I am scared to lose what I have. I am needy. I am anxious. I am lonely. I yearn being loved. I do not know what is the purpose of ME. Why am I here? How can I be happy? What is coming tomorrow? What is left for me? What is left of me? I wish I can be like Jim. I wish I am happy with my job. I wish I live somewhere else. I wish I am more attractive. I wish I am just…different… I wish I do not worry. I wish… I do not suffer…
…so I turn a corner. Flanked with run-down houses, homes made of cardboard, recycled wood, and metal sheets, garbage stinks, cigarette smokes, heavily-damaged road, black river full of chemicals, stray dogs, air pollution, homeless families…
…but so peculiar…
…eyes are meeting eyes, words are meant to be said, relationships are meant to be nurtured, life is meant to be grateful of. Soul as free as a bird, hearts soaring like a lion, and mind as focused as an Olympic archer. Human conversation, kids laughter, non-linear walking paths, genuine smiles, no race for gold, no race for life…
…clothes full of patched holes, hair as dusty as asphalt. No possessions to brag of, no respect to be searched for, no title to be worked for. This is enough. This is sufficient. Cherishing each other’s company, sharing bad jokes, nothing to hide, nothing to keep image from. Being present. Happy…
…60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, limited years a life, uncountable blessings a second…
…knowing that life is fragile. Understanding that humans are frail… that shiny objects & wealth mean another layer of wall. Acknowledging that life can be taken in 1 second, that nothing is permanent, that having “just enough” does not mean we are suffering… that being happy is not dependent on quantity…
…so I turn a corner, flanked with rising skyscrapers and wafting aroma of fresh-baked croissants. Strangers in their fancy clothes, sipping coffee from one hand, eyes fixated to their digital pal on the other. Scroll, tap, scroll scroll, sip, tap, scroll, tap tap, sip…
…and I stop.
…I put my digital pal deep down in my 3-year-old unbranded jeans pocket. I take a big inhale of that aroma and I go inside. I give some change, a $10 bill, and a fresh-baked croissant to a lady holding cardboard on one hand, a baby on the other hand, and a kid on her lap, sitting on the ground with all her belongings outside the coffee shop. Clothes full of patched holes, hair as dusty as asphalt, a shopping cart her home. I smile…
…I invest on genuine relationships, I am an open book, I am here. I strive for enough, I thank my past, I am grateful of the present. I welcome people. I take non-linear paths, I walk with others. I don’t care about image, I don’t care about respect, I don’t care about title. I pursue a content life. I share, I lend a hand, and I no longer suffer…
