Today, I mentioned to two women walking behind me on a trail in the forest in Stanley Park that I was going to let them walk ahead of me, because when people are talking behind me, it's hard for me to hear what's in my head, and I want them to enjoy chatting, so please go ahead, and I can walk slow. They seemed very good neatured about it and we exchanged warm smiles. I found myself liking them both and wished that we could have found time to visit more. Both women, by the way, are of African descent.
A bit later, there was an apparent family group of maybe a half dozen cyclists, a family group I think, basically obstructing the sidewalk. I smiled and said, Hey, I have to walk somewhere. They smiled too and were apologetic and very quickly made room for me. I thought, what lovely people, and would have liked to stay and chat a bit. Incidentally they are Asian-Canadian, probably Chinese.
I had nice little chats with two different strangers near the bus stop. One was really cheerful and seemed to be exulting in the beauty of the day. This is a white woman, maybe sixty or so. The other person was warm and friendly as we greeted each other. He was younger, a man of colour.
Twice after leaving the park, I scolded people for riding their bikes on the sidewalk (I said something like, "Silly me, I keep walking on the bike path). They were white, both genders.
In the cafe where I sat for the next hour or so with my sketchbook I found myself enjoying the warmth and friendliness of the staff there. They are both Asian-Canadians. Then, I had to ask another customer, while she was waiting for her order, to please allow me two metres of space. We both smiled and she was a good sport about it. She is white.
On the news this weekend: a black busdriver in my city was verbally threatened with racist hate speech by some white idiot passenger. And, the wife of the Delta chief of police turned her garden hose on a young woman of South Asian descent, for accidentally walking on her beachfront property in order to walk without breaking her ankle.
We are all awesome. Some of us are idiots. I like to think what we can all be awesome. And that we all can be idiots. I walked past the Anglican Cathedral today and on their sign outside they were advertising the word love, and I was thinking, what abominable hypocrites, after their archbishop tried to sic her lawyer on me because neither she nor the horrible woman priesting at my parish church would lift so much as a finger to see if I could get decent pastoral support,,,, which is only available in the Anglican Church if you are willing and able to pay for a spiritual director.
If love has any real meaning or resonance to us, then we had sure as heck better stop talking about it and start living it. The sooner the better.
All for now, duckies!
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