The most fun I've had in months!

There are few natural phenomena that leave humans in reverence and awe, with my favorites being raging ocean swells and blizzards.  Yesterday brought a "sneak" blizzard into downtown Cleveland, amassing significant snowfall which was not forecast by the many meteorologists of the area.  I'm grateful to say that I had the most fun I've had in months.  Here's how it manifested.

It was sunny and cold as I left my house for work.  The drive into work is about 11 miles and takes 20 minutes.  Traffic was moving smoothly until I was within 5 miles from downtown.  It was there that the snow began.  Traffic was stopped shortly ahead, as the snow intensified.  Though I was only a few miles from work, it took over 2 hours to get there.  The roads were complete gridlock, with many minutes of simply sitting still awaiting the next advance of several inches.  This is not where the fun was for me, though I have abundant patience and was fine sitting in my car and witnessing the copious snowfall.

I finally made it to work.  There was a feeling of child-like wonderment in the air.  When Mother Nature unveils a spectacle, us humans gain a fresh perspective on our position in the heirarchy on this planet.  To see traffic flow completely shut down by the falling snow brought forward a variety of emotions to those involved.  It is when under pressure that our true essence comes forth, and the pressure of being "stuck" in a claustrophobic, endless traffic jam allowed this essence to bubble forth.  Witnessing this is where the fun began for me.

I put on jackets, hat, gloves, and my high boots and took a walk.  I went to one of the busiest corners in the near downtown area, a corner that experiences rush hour gridlock on a daily basis.  Traffic was stopped.  There were cars everywhere.  A few people rolled down their windows and had a brief conversation with me, often with concern that they would run out of gas.  On the opposite side of the street, I saw some folks pushing a car which had gotten stuck.  I went over to help out.  The folks doing the pushing were the drivers of the cars behind the one stuck.  They had gotten out and assisted.  Traffic moving that way had to climb a small hill.  I stood there for a while.  It wasn't long before another car got stuck and had to be pushed.  I pushed.  Shortly thereafter another, and then another car got stuck.  I continued to stay at this corner and assist people by pushing their car, giving them that little bit of momentum needed to continue up the hill.  This was tremendous fun for me as the drivers of these cars rolled down their windows and co-ordinated with me in order to gain the momentum to continue on.  The people had laid down their defenses and accepted the assistance of a total stranger on a day when many tempers were running short and everyone's patience was being tested.

As I stood on the corner, a few more people rolled down their windows to have a conversation.  Clearly I was not the only one highly amused by this break in "normal" daily reality.  Those of us willing to step outside of our preconceived ideas of what "should" be found much delight and refreshment in the monkey wrench that old man winter threw into the plans that day.  We were simply humans touching each other in ways that felt good to us at the time, assisting each other in moving through a difficult circumstance.  I'm grateful to have witnessed this firsthand.

A short while later a car stopped shortly up the road and put the flashers on.  I went to see if I could help.  The man was having an overheating issue and needed to get the car to the gas station on the opposite side of the street about 200 yards away.  He asked if I could direct traffic while he backed up to the intersection and took the left hand turn that would direct him toward the gas station.  I did this for him.  It was tricky because there were so many cars and no space to move, and the cars were largely stationary.  Despite the mess, he got his car to the gas station after some time.

At that point I needed a warmup, so I walked back to the bowling alley (my place of employment).  About an hour later, the man who had the overheating car walked in.  He didn't know there was a bowling alley there.  It was his first time in the place.  He saw me and came over to shake my hand, expressing his gratitude at the help.  He told my uncles the story.  It felt good to be appreciated.

As I was out helping cars up the hill, I thought about a concept I'd heard about years earlier......that of being angels for each other.  We are offered an opportunity on this planet of learning and lessons to assist each other and bring blessings to each other.  Yesterday was a great opportunity for me to show kindness to my fellow human by offering assistance, conversation, or friendship where needed.  It was the most fun I've had in months!

Namaste..............