Slices

All day long, I think of my life in slices. Slices of time, slices of feelings, that, put together, make up my whole day and my whole life.

Today, however, I realized how many slices of other people's lives I am witness to every day. I started paying attention - and quickly found myself captivated.  (You might say I was being nosy, but I didn't do anything except overhear what was said in public!)

Here are the slices I witnessed today.

"The Bachelor was quite a ride this season, wasn't it?" : This must be a yearly ritual, one they probably share with people they are close to. How fun it is to share in an interest and have it to talk about at work the next day!  Reminds me of when my coworkers and I watched The Office and talked about it every Friday morning before work.

Watched a woman going into the dry cleaners with a huge pile of clothes : She must have a job or a lifestyle that requires lots of dry cleaning.  Or did she go somewhere fancy this weekend - maybe a wedding, or Palm Sunday at church - and is just getting around to dropping off her dry cleaning?  Or is she like me, and her pile of dry cleaning just got embarrassingly large and she is finally dropping it all off at once?

"I have your phone number, and I will call the police if I have to!" : How scary to have someone call and say odd things. Do they worry about him coming to the salon? Do they feel uncomfortable leaving at night?  Fear for your safety is something I have very rarely felt in my life.
*They did ask me if they could report this person for repeatedly calling them and hanging up. I said it was worth looking into, at least so it was documented that there was a problem.*

"This winter weather is terrible, isn't it? Where is Spring?!?" As he engaged me in a conversation about taking all his winter weather gear out yesterday morning at the snow and the argument he had with his wife, I wondered if he worked in a job where he was often alone. I notice this about my grandfather, who worked alone on an oil truck all day for 50+ years - the second you put him with other people, he never stops talking!

"Well, they're both ninety, and we've been lucky to have them this long" : Since I work with people who could be talking about their own parents or their grandparents, I thought about the experience of dealing with aging relatives. How wonderful that this person feels blessed to have had them this long - but how much grief and struggle that comment covers up. I hope they have more time with their family.

"I'd like a chair massage too, please" - I wondered about the woman asking for this. Does she treat herself to one of these every time? Is this a special occasion - like treating herself for her birthday or another special reason?  Maybe she is a nurse or other profession where she is on her feet all day.  How relaxing to sit for ten minutes and have someone take the stress away from your body - I am so happy that this is an option in my life!

What an exercise to recognize the slices around me.  Talk about being present in the moment - as I listened and watched today, I paid more attention to the why's and the how's of the people in front of me. I thought about what they were saying, why they were saying it, what could be contributing to this moment in front of me. I felt as if this offered me a different perspective on the world around me.

I encourage you to try it!  Look for slices from other people's life - and let me know if you do!