'just an excuse to say hi'

On my regular walking/jogging route through my neighborhood, I go through a little park. I love this little park. Depending on the time of day, it may be bustling with activity, kids running around, a group of guys at soccer practice, friends and families gathering for a BBQ, lovers sitting on a bench, holding hands and gazing at each other, or watching the world go by. An early evening may look like that in my park. In the mornings, it tends to be quiet. I usually pass a few older Asian people on their morning walk. At the other end of the park, the playground is filled with toddlers, accompanied by a parent or caregiver. I spot surprisingly many dads with their kids, which pleases me greatly.

A group of senior citizens meets at this park for Qi Gong. At times, I see them arriving for their practice session, greeting each other and catching up before they get started. Other times, they will be in the middle of practice. I love watching their flowing, graceful movements and have often thought how nice it would be to join in. Watching them reminds me of teaching Qi Gong in another little park near our office when I first started practicing at Lokahi Acupuncture. There is nothing like practicing Qi Gong out in nature, breathing in and absorbing the healing energy of the earth, the trees… connecting with the ground beneath your feet… taking in the sounds of the birds singing… feeling the breeze between your fingertips as you move slowly and deliberately.


An old, yellow van is always parked in the lot at the front end of the park, and a friendly, middle-aged man seems to be living in it. He has smiled at me and greeted me from afar many times. Today, as I walked by, he stepped out of his van and approached me. He handed me a card with an inkblot on it. Below the inkblot was written, Do you know what this is? I opened the card, and it read, Just an excuse to say hi. Signed, Pat. He said it was ‘just a little something he’d made up.’ He introduced himself and smiled, then headed back towards his van. I smiled in turn – surprised, and then again not.

As I walked away, I contemplated the card, and I thought about this man’s life. I do not know anything about him, except that he appears to be living out of his van. Of course, it might be that he just drives his van to the park every day because he enjoys being there. He may not have a job, and he may struggle with various aspects of his life (as do we all), but, whenever I have seen him, he has been smiling, often engaged in conversation with another. I am certain I am not the only person he has handed his self-created card to. And I am most definitely not the only person he has brought a smile to. I thought about the beautiful light and positive energy he radiates and all the lives that he must touch. However small a role he may play in the lives of passersby like myself, it is a profound one. For me, he was an angel – a being of light – who showed up on my path – quite literally – to remind me of the wonder and beauty of life; of all the light we have inside us that we can choose to shine onto others. He shared his light with me today, and, hopefully, I got to shine some of mine back onto him as I returned his smile and thanked him before continuing on my path.