Blog #646: Hummingbirds, Mosquitoes and Grocery Bags

I have two shorts for you today.

One….
About harmony.

Two…
About hummingbirds.

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One…

“There’s no place I’d rather be.”

Those are magic words.

They mark the point where we feel total harmony.

“There’s no place I’d rather be.”

If we can find that place once a week…

Then we’re offered a chance to rejuvenate.

If we can find that place every day…

How extra lucky are we?

Life turns pretty darn good…

When we’re at our “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

Life turns pretty darn great…

That no matter where we are, we’re THERE.

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Two…

I’m in Marina del Rey.

I often sit with my dogs on a sidewalk curb that boarders a park next to my home. The dogs love it because they can see tens of other dogs walking by. I love it because I get to watch my dogs see the world.

“There’s no place I’d rather be.”

While sitting there, I often give people walking by a smile and flash a peace sign when they look over. It’s my small effort to toss a little positive energy into the world…and let others know, “I see you.”

99.9% of the time…

I get a smile, a head nod, a wave or occasionally a peace sign back.

But recently…

I lived the .1% of the time.

Here’s the drama-rich moment.

I saw the guy walking by…so I flashed him a two-fingered peace sign.

The guy saw me smile…and he gave me a one-fingered non-peace sign back.

First time ever.

BUT…

What made THIS moment extra dramatic was the dude dropped his grocery bag as he flashed me his one-fingered sign. He cursed at me with words that I couldn’t even begin to politely translate now.

Then…

He motioned as if he was coming my way. He said aggressively that he was going to do some rather unsavory things to me.

“Uh, ohhhh!”

The moment grew rich in adrenaline, so I pulled the dogs tight into me.

Thankfully, his aggression stopped on the sidewalk as he angrily picked up his groceries. However, he didn’t stop for a second letting me know that the incident was my fault. And still, after walking away, he continued to look back and berate me with unique obscenities.

A kind lady I know from my building saw the moment as she walked by.

“I saw that! Scary! Some people, huh?” she said.

“I’m sorry he’s having an extra bad day,” I said.

She kindly wished me a good day.

I flashed her a two-fingered peace sign.

She smiled and flashed me a two-fingered peace sign back.

Harmony began to find its way back to my curb.

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Hummingbirds and mosquitoes.

They come in people-sizes, too.

And in almost every conversation and interaction we have in our day…

We fly into the conversation disguised as one of them.

May we choose to be the one that doesn’t sting.

S.

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NOTE: In the photo above are two “friends” whom I’ve made relatively famous in this blog. If you’re new to reading Extra Mile Thursday, meet my dogs Amicus and EMi. (They’re brother and sister.) Wherever I’m with them, “There’s no place I’d rather be.”