There are often humoUrous or even auspicious moments as I move through a day … if the phone is not in my hands, if I pull myself out of thoughts of what I need to do next … if I stop to look and listen.
Thursday morning while walking to the office, I noticed two people trying the door of Neiman Marcus, not realizing the department store wouldn’t open to take their $ until 10AM. Then I heard the song playing on the outdoor speakers: Mushaboom. I laughed out loud.
Mushaboom is a small rural community in Nova Scotia (the songwriter, Feist, was born in Nova Scotia). That that particular song, with lyrics about an old dirt road and knee-deep snow, was playing in a pretentious place surrounded by high-end high-rise condos and stores including Gucci, Hermès, Jimmy Choo, and Louis Vuitton wasn’t a sign to me … it was just funny. It was a comic scene in the small-budget independent film of, most likely, the only Nova Scotian walking by at that moment.
Last weekend, after leaving a Dharma teaching event that should have magnified my feelings of compassion, I instead felt myself withdrawing. The crowd, the traffic, the people on the bus: I tried to be open to it all, but just ended up exhausted and thinking “RETREAT! RETREAT!” I felt like a lousy Buddhist.
My anti-social feelings don’t last long and I think I’m generally a balanced extroverted introvert. But I’m curious whether a slower pace in my Mushaboom-like-place will make me more social (to escape cabin fever) or more reclusive. The SLSR plan emphasizes making more time to engage with others, not creating a hermitage.
References:
- Feist (Official Site)
- SLSR: simpler living semi-retirement
Neil says
Another trait we have in common – to see the irony of such situations. They can sometimes make one’s day. Sitting in the car watching the drama of Mall parking lots. Can easily create stories of the dress, walk, pace, and body language of those entering or leaving the Mall.
back is the new forward says
Do you get material for your daily doodle from people watching?
Steve LeBrun says
I love Leslie Feist and that song especially, but did not know it was a real place. “We’ll collect the moments one by one, I guess that’s how the future is done” is an all-time favorite couplet. I still have to get to the maritimes someday. I had an odd reaction to the Karmapa visit too; watching tv screens; crowded; distracted…embarrassed to say bored at times. Always appreciate Tyler Dewer though. Mr recent disjointed music moment was listening to Desolation Row on an early morning walk in my green-grass neighborhood park.
back is the new forward says
Hi Steve – I really appreciate your honesty about your experience last weekend. I get why the big screens are used, but it was still a bit odd for me for this type of event – we are so “programmed” to look at screens now rather than “real” life. That was the first time I’d seen Tyler Dewar’s translation-in-action. Being mono-linguistic, I have a huge appreciation for it. I put the aspiration out there: that in some lifetime, I have the mental faculty to learn other languages, including Tibetan. Best, s.