I was walking down the street toward my office, when I saw an older gentleman in our small town approaching me. He walks at a pace that must rival the slowest land turtle in North America, carefully digs his cane into the concrete sidewalk with every step, and usually only raises his head when someone gets near him.
As I came close he stopped. He looked up, and I stopped. Then I turned my gaze to look into his deep gray eyes.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” he said. “It is,” I replied, “and it looks like its getting warmer every day.” He smiled at me, and I smiled back. We could both tell that the other was happy for the interchange and yet was needing to get on our way.
As I walked away, I noticed that my pace was slowed. I wasn’t in a hurry. I wasn’t in a rush. I just needed to get where I was going. Eventually.
