Sunday blues

In an attempt to chase away the Sunday blues this afternoon - a chronic affliction that seems to manifest on more Sundays than not - I took myself out for a run through my neighborhood. The run was invigorating, enlivening. Accompanied by upbeat tunes on my iPod, taking in the vibrant colors and fragrant smells all around me, my spirits lifted. At least a bit. Or, at the very least, I experienced a momentary reprieve from the dullness I'd been feeling all day.

Not wanting to finish my run when I reached the end of my regular loop, I continued down a different side street - one I don't usually go down. Having slowed to a walk to cool down as I headed back up the street, I found myself approaching an older lady walking towards me with a cane. I turned off my music and pulled out my earbuds as she addressed me with a comment on the beautiful day we were having. From some distance, we engaged in a bit of small talk, then inched closer and closer as our conversation continued. We stood and talked for a good fifteen minutes as I learned about her life: her daughter, who is married, but has no children; her son, who is single and she believes is gay; her good 'gay friend' who helps her out in her house when she needs it; our neighborhood, in which she's lived for 50 years!; some of the health challenges she's experiencing; her doctor, who is not a chiropractor, but something like it (one step above it, she says), and has prescribed her Chinese herbs that have worked wonders; the challenges that come with being old and living on your own, without any family nearby; the sad fact that all the younger people around her are much too busy to stop and spend very much time with her; her upcoming birthday, which, we calculated together, is going to be her 88th... she had lost track of how old she was, and, when I told her that 88 was, indeed, the right number, she was shocked. No!, she exclaimed, with a look of disbelief on her face. Then she proceeded to tell me how 'trim' I was and shared with me her resolve to exercise more and lose weight. For a woman her age, I'd say she was in phenomenal shape! As we talked, there were a few times she picked up her cane and twirled it around in a way that a young kid would and that had me believing she just took it along for the fun of it!

Before we parted, my newly-made friend told me several times how good it had been to meet me. I felt the same. This little bit of interaction was the highlight of my day. A day that was a perfectly fine day with no reason whatsoever to complain, but, for some reason, still felt dull and drab and heavy. Some days are like that. Yet, no matter how drab, there is always beauty to be found. For me, the greatest beauty is always found in unexpected interaction and moments of connection. One has but to be open to experiencing it, and the Universe will steer us toward it. 'tis a beautiful thing.