Simple Communication.

How quickly we forget about the most important things in life. The most simple things in life. What our world has craved for, survived by, and was most influenced with.

Simple Communication.

There is something so precious about sitting in front of an individual and talking about nothing in particular. Whether, it be on the scab on your knee or the news in a different country, there is something that is given and taken by those in that conversation.

Today, there was a man sitting at the table across from my family and me. He seemed to have something special about him because throughout the entire meal, I worried about him.
He talked to himself, looked through his brown worn reusable bag, bringing a book out and putting it back in, as if he was not sure of himself. Occasionally, a person would come to him and speak with him for a few moments, and every time that person came by, the man would say the same thing.

Close to the end of our meal, my eyes no longer wandered to that old man but rather, they stayed on him. His white hair of wisdom seemed to be brightening and he wasn't one to sit still, shifting only after a few minutes than shifting again. He would grab his cup, swirl his straw in the empty cup and try to drink what was cascading from the ice cubes that inhabited the bottom.

It bothered me.

Sitting there for more than twenty minutes and still, no one came to see if he needed anything.
My heart hung in my chest and continued to ache as I watched this man, mumble words to himself. I repeatedly asked my mother whether it was OK for me to go and sit with him, just to chat. But I knew that this was out of her own comfort zone.

Finally, after his third attempt to drink the melting ice cubes, I walked over to a waitress and asked her to bring him a cup of water. Yet, nothing came. I was close to tears as I watched this man struggle with himself and out of anger, my mother rose and grabbed a cup herself.

She set the cup in front of the man and my father began simple: "You are thirsty right?"

The smile that brightened the old man's worn face, made my heart cry with joy. He proceeded to tell us about the weather, the way that taxes were supposed to be used to fix and maintain the city, and that preachers were not very important in society these days (Laughter rang from my mouth, as my father is a Preacher).

he reached into his old bag and began showing us books that he carried around about his favorite things: Cars from the 50's, Insects, Animals, and Cats. He even showed us a list of singers from the 50's that he had made himself.

I was so wrapped up in the conversation that I told him how much I loved listening to music from the 50's-90's. He laughed slightly and said :Well that's good. You're young and should start learning from the old people's lives.

He continued to speak, allowing a few head nods and small comments come from our mouths until it was time for us to leave our dear acquaintance behind.

With one last smile he bid us goodbye and I whispered: Thank You.

We paid for his meal today.
After all he had given me in that small amount of time, was enough to last me a lifetime and was certainly worth more than the food he had eaten there.

----Simple Communication----

All this world needs.
That is why there is music: To give us a new way to communicate, with more feeling.

That man reminded me of so many values that I have left to wallow in dust, need to be shaken out and tried anew. He reminded me why I have friends and people who like to talk to me. because I went to them and picked them up when they were down and needed someone.

Because of communication and a genuine heart, That man taught me something so deep.
That lesson was only one of the many that my mind is trying to hold onto.
Maybe when those feelings and thoughts settle more, I will be able to explain them to you.

Thanks to those parents who taught me about caring for others, the siblings that pushed me to open up and make friends, and thanks to myself, for never letting this generation take hold of me but instead me blocking it. *I am proud to be of the older generation by soul and by mindset*

My advice: Sit with someone and talk about nothing. It may open your eyes to something old and heart-bursting (Happy).

My challenge: Talk to someone new and unfamiliar. That way you do not have to choose your words carefully but absorb what they present to you.