There he is. The elderly man who casually takes his strolls in the streets. Seemingly unbothered by most things; if not all things in life. He doesn’t even have air pods or headphones in his ears during his casual walk. You can even catch him in a cafe or a coffee shop from time to time. A coffee mug in hand. Usually drinking tea or of course, coffee. How ironic. Reading the newspaper, flipping through page by page to see what has happened the day prior or what’s currently happening in the world. He has no reaction. Not in a way where it’s avoidant, but in a way where he’s 100% unbothered. The “Old Man”. I wonder if he has kids, he’s never seen with them. I wonder what happened to his significant other. Does he have a wife? Did he have a wife? He’s always alone, but happy in the calmest of ways. How strange. How can this be?
The strangest of things is that he keeps on coming back. He continues to go on walks, daily. He’s at a coffee shop or cafe weekly. He’s old school, of course. He doesn’t have a cell phone, I bet he still uses a landline. Even reading a newspaper. I don’t know the last time I saw someone pick up a newspaper or even mention one. I used to see newspaper boxes everywhere in my hometown. Now, everything is online.
He doesn’t talk to anyone. He just minds his own business. He seems so happy. How can this be? Maybe life would be better if we all focused on ourselves and minded our own business. For our sanity. For our peace. I’ve never seen a man so non-reactive to every day things. A dog barks. He looks, but is unbothered. He witnesses disgruntled customers; he continues to read his newspaper. When the day is raining, he puts on his raincoat and continues his daily walk. He then makes his way to a coffee shop to continue his routine.
One day I was working as a 17 year old at a grocery store. I used to push carts. I thought that was cool. One of my best friends growing up used to push carts and I looked up to him. So, when I got older and I could work, I wanted to push carts too. Just like him. One day an old man approached me. Out of nowhere. He starts a conversation. He says “life was a heck of a ride”. He told me a bunch of stories when he was a teenager and I enjoyed listening to them. I truly did. He told me about his high school adventures, his high school sweetheart, a bunch of crazy things he did, and none of which he regretted. He seemed to be unbothered and unphased by the things he did. He ends the conversation with- I’m going now, remember what I have told you. He told me to chase the things that truly mattered to me. But, most importantly to have fun. I never saw the old man again, but I never forgot what he told me.
Listen to elderly people. I think we have forgotten the art of respecting our elders. They were here before us. Therefore they have more knowledge and wisdom that they can share with us. They have witnessed things we have not. The least we can do is be attentive, take in the information, and learn from what they can tell us. Maybe their inspiration can allow us to be inspirational to others. We all enjoy being heard.
The End,
Mr. Creator
Mr.Creator blog 