Early Morning Adventures (& a story from The Trident)

Unfortunately, no one but me showed up for meditation this morning at the Church. I sat for awhile on a bench in the plaza watching the light gather on the Flatirons. The lights over the doors to the church and the Faith Center eventually blinked off.

Eventually I got up and started walking home. I stopped at the Trident, vastly less crowded at 7:30 in the morning than otherwise, and had a pot of Pu-ehr tea. They had five different kinds to choose from! I had Imperial which turned out to be very strong.

My favorite table in the far back corner was available and I sat myself cross-legged in the corner with my back comfortably supported by the back wall and the wall of the bench and then I just drank my tea and watched the room: ceiling fans gently circling, buses passing by the front window, people chatting or reading the paper while drinking tea and eating pastries. I enjoy the red brick wall on one side and the old wood paneling on the other, the wooden floors, the wood stove (not working.)

Probably the biggest attention catcher was a group of people sharing a booth not too far from me. When I got there the older man and woman were arguing. "But you always do this," the woman said, leaning forward and gesturing in the man's face with her hands. The man had a lap top in front of him and he looked down and typed some before answering. They bickered back and forth and then started laughing. I knew this pattern was long practiced. Then two younger people came in. The younger man slid in next to the older one. He had some tea or coffee and a cup of milk. He pulled a package of cold cereal from his backpack and sprinkled some into the milk which he then ate with a spoon, sprinkling in more cereal as there was more room. The younger woman had some coffee and a newspaper.

The most interesting thing was when the older man said to the younger woman, "Let's talk about Quickbooks." "Absolutely not!" the young woman said angrily. "This is my coffee time and I'm not going to spend it talking about QuickBooks." It was the same bickering tone of voice that the older woman used with him. I suddenly got very interested in the dynamics between these four. The older man said something I couldn't entirely catch but it was something about "since we work together." The younger woman exploded again. "NO!" she said. "This is not work time. If you are going to turn this into work time then I would rather stay in bed an extra half hour than come here!" And then she went on and on about it getting louder the longer she went on. The older woman put her finger to her lips. "Shhhhh! Shhhh! Shhhh!," she said. The thing I found really interesting was that, at first glance, the older man seemed like such a passive and friendly person, quiet with the look of an Italian gentleman about him, but I began to wonder if he wasn't actually the source of all this irritation continually circling around the group. The young man kept laughing and jollying up the tension. The older woman joined the younger. I thought, "They need to find a way to set boundaries. It is amazing how much time they spend either crossing or defending them."

Finally the older man got up to leave. Before he did, he turned to the group and said "I could disappear into 'Thailand. I could go to Costa Rica and you would never find me. I could do that you know." "But you won't," said the older woman flatly. "But I could, " he replied. I shuddered thinking this must go on for hours and hours every single day since they work together! When he was gone the younger man told the younger woman, "You just need to tell him, 'Fine, if we are going to talk about Quickbooks now then I am on the clock. You can pay me for an extra half hour today. Then let him decide if he wants to talk about Quickbooks before work." "No," said the younger woman. "I'm not giving up my coffee time to talk about Quickbooks."

And then I shut my eyes and listened to "everything" for awhile - sitting quietly, cross-legged in my corner, a bother to no one. Tea pots and cups rattled in the washing up area. Footsteps crossed the wooden floor. The fan to the heater turned on and blew hard. The room was filled with the buzz of conversation, not just from the four nearby: someone laughing, the shrill voice of a young child saying "Grampa!" And then music came on and the tender notes of someone playing solo piano drifted over our heads. The pieces were very simple and short, a little dreamy. They reminded me of the Gurdjieff sacred music which I think I will put on after I finish writing this.

Since last Fall, maybe longer, I have been spending most of my time in my house and home office. There have been days and days when I didn't go outside at all. This morning it felt as if I had been released to experience the world again. My good fortune today that no one showed up for meditation! : )