I have never been jealous of the homeless before. Never really given them much thought at all to be honest with you. But as I sat there for hours, shifting positions every couple of minutes trying to find some semblance of comfort, I began to meditate on the amazing skill set of indegents. I have seen them sleep in the most uncomfortable places. Cement sidewalk. Bus stop bench. Grassy knowls. I have seen them sleep in the daytime. On noisy streets. In the heat. In the cold. I don't mean to make fun of them. It's not them....it's ME! It's how spoiled and pathetic I am. It's the fact that i could not get the tinyest bit of rest in a climate controlled building full of serviceable (if hard) faux leather chairs.
I have been reading a book about harnessing the power of the very moment that you are in. Forgetting about the past. Not worrying about the future. It's some sort of Eastern Zen thing. Looking back though (which the zen master says I'm not supposed to do. Oops.) I can kind of see how it was a long stretch of too much comfort and my deep desire for more in the future that was making me miserable. It was all i thought about. I didn't take time to observe the world around me. To really take it in. To walk. To breath. To appreciate that I was inside while it was raining outside. To be happy that Leslie was getting at least a little rest. This is all easy to see as I sit in my warm comfy bed. I guess seeing those things in the moment are the true Toa. There's something to that I think, but I still enjoy a little reflection now and then too. Now though, what I really need is some sleeep!!!!!!!!!!!!
Funny you should mention sleeping in abnormal places. On the right hand side of the street fronting my building tenants often dispose of large bulky items. Last weekend someone had disposed of a old pink leather chair in that location (who knew a 1980's Eddie Murphy lived in my neighborhood!?!). On Sunday morning when I went out to get the newspaper I noticed a man plop himself down in the chair and take a nap. I thought this both odd (since he did not seem homeless) and unsanitary. In any case I went about my business. Later in the day I happened to look out my lanai, which overlooks the chair, and noticed the man still napping. I then became obsessed and found it necessary to check the status of the sleeping man every half hour or so. Long story short, he was in that chair no less than 9 hours!! I suspect that he was either 1) on drugs; 2) meeting someone who was very very late; or 3) the former owner of the chair who had to have one last romp before it went to that furniture heaven in the sky. See, who needs TV?
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