The awakening that is a softening of the heart comes when we see that we are all flawed.
Kaspa writes: A few weeks ago I was invited to a meeting. I was emailed instructions which included the date of the meeting. I wrote the details in my diary… time moved on.
Last Monday afternoon I got an email, “Sorry you couldn’t make the meeting. Let me know what’s going on for you…” I panicked. Had I written down the wrong date (which is something that I might have done)? I checked the email again. I’d been given the wrong date!
We both got our diaries out and rearranged the meeting.
This morning I got my stuff together, dressed a little smarter than usual, and hung around waiting to leave. I sat down, I stood up. I watched the clock. Eventually I got in the car and drove over to the meeting. Having been given the wrong date earlier, my mind started to turn over other scenarios of what might wrong.
I pulled into the car park in plenty of time. There was no sign of anyone else. I rang the buzzer. I waited. I rang the buzzer again. The muscles in my neck bunched and I began to pace.
I was working out how long was socially acceptable to wait before calling when I thought that it was probably a good idea to double check the meeting arrangements.
Thank goodness for smartphones. I checked the email conversation.
I had written the date down wrongly.
At first I was angry with myself. What a waste of a morning! But perhaps it was worth it for the flawed parts of both of us to connect. We had both managed to mess up meeting times. I was able to see their mistake in a softer light, as well as my own. The tension in my shoulders evaporated and I smiled. It was pretty funny, after all.
The drive back was beautiful. The countryside is full of amazing autumn colours at the moment, and I collected plenty of small stones.
it is autumn and the hedges are on fire
yellow ash leaves dance on the road in the wake of a rattling truck
a mottled grouse furrows a path through the sky
We’ll try and meet again next week.
Wish me luck.
