"Any thoughts on Japan?" he asked, leaning a bit and slanting his face in a way that would catch my attention. It isn't often that people approach me so openly even though it is a book store. This forthrightness suggested agitation.
"Pretty amazing!"
The man then started into a list of disasters that he had catalogued in his mind finishing up with a statement to the effect that Christians would really have a tough time interpreting them.
"Yeh, that's a long list of disasters." I had no reason to disagree with him.
The man who was a day unshaven and very relaxed in a dark combination of loose jacket and jeans wanted a conversation. He rambled on about how history showed this or that. I can't quite remember what because I too was trying to concentrate while not being disagreeable. I had found three books and was hoping for a fourth.
The man was insistent on prattling on uninvited into my personal space of thought and research. I was aware that he had seen the Japan news about earthquake and tsunami, so I played his game and said, "The earthquake in New Zealand was also a complete surprise."
This triggered the man into more statements about the numbers of disasters building up and the possible meaning. He seemed stressed despite his relaxed dress and general no-care appearance.
Now, being in a search state of mind I was not really the person he should have addressed during that half hour in the afternoon, but he persisted in his exposition of calamities and what they meant in his interpretation. My impatience was gathering as well because the man had being going at me for more than ten minutes. I would nod occasionally, but I was not a willing participant in his steady stream of thought and communication.
Having reached a turning point in this marginally interesting business of doing two things at once, I decided that I wanted to do one thing. I decided to present the unfriendly side of my personality in a friendly way. Those who know me well realize that I love conversation and exploration of ideas, but my mood was not good and I was looking for positive affirmation. I tried being positive with the man, but that did not work. He seemed determined to drag me along into negative emotional areas with downer statements.
What am I to do now, I wondered? This guy is really bugging me, so I better deal with it.
I turned to the man and I thought that I was quite rude in what I said, "You know, you remind me of Eeyore!" I thought that my rude comment would be quite enough to send him on his way. He had raised the issue of Isreal several times and Armageddon was not far off, so an Eeyore insult should do the trick. Needless to say, the insult did not work.
"You mean the donkey in Winnie the Pooh?" he asked, and without letting me reply said, "My wife likes those books, but I don't read them."
"You should!" said I, thinking Eeyore was more of a jackass than a donkey. The more I thought about it as I steamed privately to myself the more the man seemed to be a jackass.
"The world is not all doom and gloom," I said, seemingly with authority. The man had described how American debt would never be paid off. "The debt will be paid off. It's not total disaster."
"Eeyore looked at the negative side of life all the time. You should be more positive."
The man was no longer listening. He had no heart for good news. He was in the distance looking for another person to spread his doubts on!
Woohs stream at http://woohs.blogspot.com taps into many streams of thought and action. Nearby yoga at http://nearyoga.blogspot.com taps into human body movement using yoga techniques and Kundalini meditation. The Wuh Lax site http://wuhlax.blogspot.com focuses on sources and research behind the Wuh Lax series of books. At Togwells Publishing we focus on people's notions of pilgrimage of body, mind, and soul, http://togwells.blogspot.com. Whatever your beliefs, there is no end to motion, just evolution and unrelenting change, seen or unseen. Energy is motion both in reality and calculation. Take time to rest even though all inside you is always moving. Your massive relative pause gives opportunity for other smaller streams to catch up. Take time to meditate so that you can see with your mind what lies within and beyond.
