PAUSE AND PONDER

Two Profound and Unrelated Events

This week two events caused profound pause. I share them with you here.
Always eager to preserve some polite behavior for the younger generation, I simply smiled through the window at the valet parking attendant and gestured to him to open the car door for me.
He fumbled for the handle and as I climbed down, he apologized: “Sorry, I am not used to people looking at me. Most of them are on their phones…”
His tone carried a sad resignation to a common loneliness. People don’t look at each other anymore; and we surely do not interact with spontaneity. We hide behind a device.
Device: interesting word. Seems like that word is close to ‘divide’ and ‘vice’ as in ‘evil tendency;’ and even similar to ‘devil.’ Cause to pause, for sure.
I felt so sorry for the young man and that pity extended to each person huddled over their ‘devices’ in the coffee shop close by. As I waited for my friend and sipped my tea, what do you think happened? I pulled out my phone, of course, and joined the isolated humans holding down the chairs, one at each table, alone.
Next time, I will bring the Good Book and focus on the One who doesn’t even own a phone, and will always be my friend.

Later in the week, I happened to be in the home of a dear family close to me. Dinner was simply a main dish placed on the stove with an open invitation to partake as schedules permitted. One by one family members helped themselves as they scurried off to various appointments. One put the dinner in a thermos, another a paper bowl for the road.
One teenage son scooped the fare into a favorite bowl and sat to enjoy. After the first bite, he sighed: “I love my mom!” How profound those simple four words, really when you think about it.
Little boys come into the world loving their mommies and wanting only to please them. They grow into men and marry women and then live only to please them! We women are so foolish in many ways when we put undue pressure and demands on our “little boys” instead of simply cooking for them. Men are so easy to please. Give them respect and good food, lots of love and quietness, and they will swim through shark infested waters just to bring us a lemonade. That is not an original word picture, I quote it from Dr. Laura; it is, nevertheless, an apt description of how wonderful our lives can be when we keep it simple and peaceful and always have food ready when they are hungry.
Think about it.