You won’t meet Charlie if you speed on by.
If you book your regular cushy first class seat on the plane you’ll cruise above him at a cool 30,000 feet. Cruising along the Interstate you’ll blaze right on by without a moments thought. Even if you pull off the highway and do run into him, most likely you’ll look right through him – just one more hippie biker in Garberville, CA – just one more person you don’t trust enough to interact with and don’t really have time for anyway.
You’d be missing out.
Missing out on music that touches your soul. Just try it. Sit on a curb outside the 76 station. Hear a man playing for the sheer joy of it – close your eyes and take it in. The sharp smell of gasoline and grease, the rough feel of the curb supporting you, feet in the gutter, your ears grasping to capture every sound. You move with the music. No tickets, no crowds, no seats- your own private concert.
I’ve noticed that it’s so damn easy to miss out. So easy to opt for the comfort of anonymity, of minimizing contact and risk, the convenience of speeding through our lives to get the the parts that we think matter. I’m not saying you have to give up these conveniences, just be aware what you are doing- and that you might be missing something of value.
My advice?
Next time slow the hell down and wake the hell up to your own life. Are you really living it or just speeding through?
