Day 63

Day 63: Real Time
Day 7: 21 Day Complaint Free Journey


Sizzling Summer Sundays.

We often have good intentions for them, ideas that stretch from completing projects left over from the week to spending the day reconnecting with ourselves amid our overly-busy lives.

Mine started out one way and took a sharp left turn about 2 PM when I decided I wanted to hear the Reggae band that plays on the deck overlooking the creek near my house. I had heard them from the county dock a few months ago, but alcohol isn’t allowed in parks. I was forced to get a bit closer.

The “band” turned out to be a young man with a guitar, dreadlocks, and a great voice. The crowd gathered over the hour or so I sat there with my beer and wings, until he was joined by a saxophone player and things got a bit louder.

I’m glad I went. Just like I’m glad I started on my way to being complaint free 63 days ago.

As I sat there in the shimmering heat yesterday, I engaged in one of my favorite pastimes: Observing. Writers watch people a lot. I’ve even been known to eavesdrop on a conversation or two. But as a person who had fallen into the habit of negativity, my eyes and ears were often jumping to conclusions.

Like the couple sitting closest to me yesterday. In my old mode, I might have spent my time mentally assessing and judging them. They turned out to be a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t have known that unless I had allowed myself (and them) the time to connect on a human level.

We spend too much time and energy judging each other, I think. And then we seem to rejoice in running to the nearest sympathetic ear to whisper our illuminating “observations.” Maybe, just maybe, we could give each other the benefit of the doubt and a little space without the drama.

Who have you discounted recently?

Day 7 ahead!