The sun took me out for a walk. I had no destination really, only to walk in a part of town I’d never been before. It was the only thought in my mind when I left home.
I crossed the street and started walking. I passed many art and yoga studios. The library was closed, though I stopped by anyway to see what days it was open. Before I reached the next block, I noticed two buildings on the same side of the street. One was a theater and the other a crystal store that looked more like a psychic’s tent. I passed the latter to go straight to the theater. I did this on purpose because the crystal store was the real place I wanted to stop and stay for a while; visiting the theater first would allow me a relaxed and immersive experience at the crystal store. The theater was closed, putting my curiosity about what movies were playing to rest. I headed right back to the mystic tent!
As I retraced my steps, I marked the moment with warm hopes of meeting someone with whom I could have a spiritual encounter. I do this all the time! In these kinds of “spiritual meetings,” we recognize each other as souls in bodies and chat about our current rebirths. How has it been for you to be here for this number of years? What was it to be born in that family, and have this number of children? Have you forgiven everyone? These sorts of conversations interest me greatly.
So I walked through the door. It made a funny noise, announcing that someone had arrived. There were two people inside: an old man behind the counter and a lady in a wheelchair. An impressive blue crystal necklace hung around her neck. It must be really heavy, I thought, but perhaps being in the wheelchair, the weight didn’t bother her.
They said hello to me, I said hello back to them, and I began to browse. There was much to look at, but I was taken with a large, wooden sculpture of the Buddha lying peacefully on his right side. My mind was empty of thoughts. I simply wanted to be there, contemplating the image of the Buddha. Before any specific thought arose, the lady in the wheelchair asked if I was looking to buy anything in particular. I turned around with a smile, looked straight into her eyes and said that it was great to be at her store, but I was not looking for anything. Do you mind? She said no while tightening her lips and looking down, she seemed disappointed.
At this point, I intuitively knew the spiritual conversation wouldn’t happen.
I walked slowly, admiring the many Native American images and crystals of all sizes and colors. But with every step I took, the lady was right behind me. She quickly broke the silence to give me historical commentary for every piece she assumed I was looking at. At first, I thought she was only doing her job, eager to share her knowledge about each object on display. The man standing behind the counter wasn’t around anymore. So I listened to her patiently, but noticed her comments were always followed by the persistent question: …
To be continued next week!
Much love!
Valeria
