There is an elderly woman I see almost every morning on my way to work.
She must be around eighty.
She sits alone on the same bench.
Always alone.
And yet, every single day, she looks as though she is about to meet someone special.
Her hair is done.
Maybe overdone, but still with an editorial aesthetic.
Her lipstick carefully applied.
Maybe overapplied, but still with an editorial aesthetic.
Her clothes thoughtfully chosen.
Maybe too much, but still with an editorial aesthetic.
Maybe extravagant BUT not attention-seeking. LIKE LIVE SEEKING.
Simply ALIVE.
I found myself wondering where she was going. Who she was meeting. What occasion required such care.
Maybe nowhere. Maybe there was no lunch reservation. No celebration. No audience.
Maybe she simply believed that an ordinary morning deserved the same respect as a special occasion, and this is LIFE AUDIENCE.
This woman reminds me of Maude from Harold and Maude — someone who never stopped treating life as an occasion.
One morning, I introduced myself.
Since then, when I am not in a hurry, I sit beside her for a few minutes.
We talk. Nothing important. The weather. The neighbourhood. Small things. Yet maybe the greatest things.
And every time I walk away, I feel strangely better.
As if those few minutes remind me of something we all tend to forget.
That life is not waiting for us somewhere else.
It is happening now.
In ordinary mornings.
On familiar streets.
On park benches.
In small conversations.
In overdressing for no obvious reason!
We often save beautiful things for later.
The good dress.
The special perfume.
The nice plates.
The phone call we've been meaning to make.
The visit we've been postponing.
Today arrived. ARRIVES EVERY SINGLE MORNING.
And that is occasion enough.
FCK YES, put it on today.
This letter was supposed to be released in June.
I wanted to take this photo beside this lady.
But I haven't seen her since then…
- GF